Revive my heart...

I was able to get away for a couple days last week. 

BY

MY

SELF.

I was a bit crazy trying to get everything in order before the trip. If you're a mom of little ones, you know what I'm talking about. Figuring out childcare, making meals for the hubby and kids you are leaving behind. Pretty sure I yelled at my kids 486 times while I was packing and cleaning just an hour before I left. 

But oh my goodness...did I need this get-away.

I attended my first True Woman Conference down in Indianapolis, IN.

I have been to smaller church retreats in the past. But, when I saw over eight THOUSAND women in the Indianapolis Convention Center...

I was blown away.

It's hard to put into words everything I experienced with God in those two and a half days.

But I CAN tell you...

It was breathtaking.

It was challenging.

It was freeing.

It was convicting.

It was motivating.

It was encouraging.

It was powerfully lead by the Holy Spirit.

It spoke directly to my heart.

I left with this phrase running through my head....

"The more you know God, the more you will hear Him."

Lately, I've been kinda going through the motions. The daily routine of life. Ever been there? 

Yeeaaahhh. 

I've been wanting some direction in certain areas of my life and was just expecting God to point the way. What I haven't been doing is intentionally seeking Him. Pulling my face close to His and whispering what's deep in my heart. Absorbing His word and pouring over each verse with the intention to learn something fresh and new. I was getting distracted by shopping online, facebooking, pinning, and other silly things. 

I'm currently taking a break from FB and Pinterest. They are not bad things per say. It just turns bad when it's all I can think about. When it's the first thing I want to check at the beginning of the day. They are sucking my precious hours every day and it's time for a priority adjustment. I want to soak up every bit of Him so that when he does speak I can say, "Yes, Lord. I'm here!".

Mornings are not my friend. I don't like getting up. Plain and simple. I tend to complain about it too--which only perpetuates my bad attitude. Maybe if I get up just a bit earlier to start by seeking the Lord first, I will despise mornings a smidge less?? 

I'm giving it a try anyway...

After announcing my fast, one of my close friends asked, "So are you giving up the blog too?"

Nope. 

Still here.

:)

***

You can listen to ALL the same speakers/ sessions that I heard at the conference online for FREE if you are interested! (My favorite speaker was Priscilla Shirer...I had goosebumps the whole time. Powerful speaker.)

CLICK HERE

***

Mason {18 months}

Speaking of growing up around here....

THIS boy is 18 months old today.

Has a bubbly personality and a whole lotta spunk. 

A friendly little man who waves and smiles at anyone and everyone.

A professional "little brother" who knows exactly which buttons to push.

Is a lover of food, any kind of ball, trucks, putting things in his mouth, throwing things, hitting things, and getting dirty.

He's 100% boy and I 100% love him.

***

A picnic birthday for Kensie {sweet & simple}

Life has a way of sneaking up on you. Never more true than when you have kids. Tiny, helpless, infants one minute. Jabbering, running, giggling toddlers the next. It's crazy to think our sweet Kensie girl turned 3 today.

 But, that's how life is. It's sneaky and crazy at the same time.

This girl loves all things princess and picnic related.

With both in mind, I decided this year to keep it super simple and to the point. We love you. We think you're a princess of the King. So let's do what you love most and have a picnic!

We started the day off with a decorated bedroom door. Squealing with delight does not even come close to the sounds that girl made when she woke up in the morning. Wish I would have caught her in action.

Then later in the day a tasty picnic dinner in the front yard...

No other guests. Just us.

But it was lovely.

No extra decorations (besides the helium balloons). Everything else we either had or borrowed.

No "real" gifts this year. The kids have more than enough toys and we wanted to change their perspective on birthdays a little. So, a quick trip to the library to pick out her favorite movies, and then to the grocery store to pick up the helium balloons--and the girl was thrilled.

We also signed up for a child through World Vision. Her name is Saundarya. She's the same age and has the same birthdate as Kensie. For now, Kensie loves watching the 15 second video of Saundarya coloring on a piece of paper (she watched it 4 times in a row) and she adores the fact that they both love playing with dolls. Hopefully this will mean more to Kensie as she grows up. Just another way to keep the focus away from us on our birthday. Planning to get Mason a child on his 3rd birthday as well.

Sometimes the simplest birthdays are the sweetest.

***

Some {Life} and some {Pinterest}

Life has been full here. As most of our lives are.

Full of hard things...

So much work and little time with my hubby and growing up even when we don't want to and diaper-changing and house-cleaning and getting sick and then getting better again and raising kids and yelling more than I like. 



Full of good things too...

Laughing and tickling and chasing each other down the hallway and snuggling and reading together and coloring and learning new words and being silly and going for walks and feeling full of life.



So to keep this post more interesting than my life ramblings thought I would share my favorite pins from this week...

Source: custombibletexts.wordpress.com via Shannon on Pinterest

It always is, isn't it?

Source: procaine.tumblr.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Swimming pool made to look like a pond...in my dreams!

Source: tikkido.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Kensie is turning 3 in a couple days. We are forgoing a big party this year and keeping it simple. But I still like this cake.

Source: marthastewart.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Fall is coming whether I'm ready or not. Love this muted table setting.

Source: girlinthegreenscarf.tumblr.com via Shannon on Pinterest

I love this. Especially this past week.

Source: practicalenrichment.wordpress.com via Shannon on Pinterest

DIY sweatshirt. This is SO happening. At some point.

Source: damnlol.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Okay so I thought this was funny. Ummm it has 63 repins and 30 likes. I mean I DID use the word "hilarious" in my description but sometimes I don't get how Pinterest works. 63 REPINS?? Come on people....there are way funnier things than this. 

Source: flickr.com via Shannon on Pinterest

Hoping to get a pic like this before summer is over!




Whether your kids just started school or you're the one running after them at home all day, I hope your September has started off well!

***

Homemade taco seasoning mix {recipe}

We eat a lot of Mexican food in our house. 

Nachos, quesadillas, enchiladas, and our favorite...

TACOS!

I found the following recipe about 6 years ago online (before Pinterest, gasp!) and it makes homemade tacos simply the BEST. I saved it to my desktop in a word document so I don't have a clue what site I found it on. If you know where it originated, please leave the link. I would love to thank the person who came up with it!

All-Natural Taco Seasoning Mix

This seasoning mix is the secret behind terrific tacos whatever the filling — ground beef, chicken, turkey, even sautéed veggies.

Makes about 3/4 cup

·  4 tablespoons chili powder

·  2 tablespoons onion powder

·  2 tablespoons garlic powder

·  1 tablespoon natural brown sugar

·  1 tablespoon arrowroot (this one was tricky to find. Try a health food store or local spice store)

·  2 tablespoons ground cumin

·  4 teaspoons sea salt, or to taste

·  4 teaspoons paprika

·  4 teaspoons dried oregano

·  1–3 teaspoons crushed red pepper flakes, to taste

Stir all ingredients together and store in an air-tight container until ready to use.

Now that you're in the mood for cooking, I'll share my favorite way to make taco meat using this yummy seasoning...

Start by sauteing one whole chopped onion in some olive oil.

Get 'em nice and brown, then push them to the sides of the pan to make room for your thawed ground beef.

Sorry, I can't bare to take pics of raw meat...so fast forward >>>>

Once the meat is browned, drain the extra grease.

Sprinkle your homemade taco seasoning mix (about 1-2 Tablespoons?)

Once you mix it all together you can totally STOP here.

But, if you like some extra color and flavor....

Mix in some drained and rinsed canned corn (maybe 1 cup?).

Add some drained and rinsed canned black beans (maybe 1 cup?).

Mix it all together and voila!

Delicious taco meat to stuff your flour or corn tortillas with. 

You're family will thank you. 

Trust me.

***

A week snapshot...

On top of Greg working 14-16 hours every day last week, here's a quick snapshot of the past seven days on the home-front:

Monday: Sore from the Amazing Race. Like, the kids barely brushed against my shins and I wanted to cry.

Tuesday: Still sore. Managed to take the kids to an enclosed space where they can climb and slide and run while I sit the whole time. It's called the mall playground. Life-saver I tell ya.

Wednesday: Finally feeling like I can walk without a limp. Meanwhile, the kids decided to fight over every single toy in our house. The baby stroller, the legos, the blocks, the paper towel tube that we turned into a "trumpet". Does it matter? Took them to a park to burn some energy in hopes that they would forget what toys are.

Thursday: Even more fighting over toys. Pretty sure I threatened to donate ALL our toys at least 6,923 times. Took the fighting siblings to another park--not for them but for me. I needed some clean, fresh air.

Friday:Started the day with a nice and relaxing play-date at yet another park. Thought this day would be smooth. Nope. More fights, disciplining, and tantrums throughout. Then at 7:35pm Kensie felt impelled to throw a wooden truck toy close range at Mason's head. Blood streaming down his crying chubby face. Once I got him cleaned up enough to reveal how tiny the cut was, I decided he wouldn't need to visit the ER for stitches. I still feel bad at how I screamed at Kensie.

Saturday: I was mentally and physically exhausted. Almost zero patience with my kids. Missing my hubby like crazy. Just needing a break from LIFE at this point. Thankfully a sweet couple from our Sunday School class invited us for a boat ride and dinner date (pre-planned with two other couples). Long story short, I found a babysitter last minute (I would have sooner but with Greg's schedule I wasn't banking on even going). Greg rushed home from work just in time so we could have a few uninterrupted hours together (without kids!). It was lovely. Just holding hands and walking the pier. Bumping knees on the boat ride. Laughing with friends. SO needed.

Sunday: We went to church separately. Greg went to first service, and myself and the kids went to second service--we passed each other briefly in the hallways. Followed by more work in the afternoon (for Greg), then he rushed home so I could attend a baby shower with some former college teammates of mine. Again, with NO kids. Although there were other kids there, I felt FREE as a bird! It was definitely refreshing.

Taking pictures are good for recording. But writing is good for actually remembering. 

{Wow. Just had a light bulb moment there.}

They did have SOME sweet moments of giggling and fun last week.

I feel much more prepared and refreshed to start this week. But, sometimes a girl's gotta vent.

Thanks for staying tuned in my friends. And being okay with a little venting now and then.

It's healing.

The Amazing Race 2012

Where do I even begin???

This race was truly amazing...and truly exhausting.

I wish I could tell you every detail of our two-day adventure. The places we got to see, the things we got to do and the memories we made as a team. It's incredible how much we did in such a short amount of time.

All I know is team RED had

SO

MUCH

FUN.

We solved over 45 clues in just two days. 

This was TWICE the amount from the race in Chicago.

There were also different "challenges" along the way . 

Some had to be completed by the whole team--like the zip line course. 

Some of the challenges were individual. Like this one...

Greg had to jump in and retrieve a clue that was tied to a rusted pipe underwater.

He didn't even hesitate.

My husband is awesome.

This next one was a picture challenge. We had to find a specific road sign and take a pic with 2 of our teammates in it. ..

This was not the correct sign btw--whoops!

We usually went into the challenges with NO idea about what we were going to do. Meaning, you couldn't always  line up your "best player" so to speak. Plus, we had to always rotate--meaning you couldn't have one person do 2 challenges in a row. Make sense?? 

So....

Some challenges were two-person. Like when Greg pulled me in a wagon around a softball diamond blindfolded. That was fun...and funny looking!

Here's another individual challenge. Nik eating two HUMONGOUS pasties from a restaurant. 

(He actually enjoyed every bit and finished the whole plate in 10 minutes flat)....

And I didn't mind dressing up like Goldie Locks to run around a Bear Farm looking for clues...

But the ultimate physical challenge....

The one we hoped wouldn't be too hard.

The one we NEEDED to close the gap on some teams ahead of us.

The challenge said something like, 

"Pick 2 teammates by water and 2 teammates by land to retrieve your next clues"

We could visibly see rowboats down on the water, so we decided as a team to send the boys by "water" thinking they would have the harder task. Us girls set off down the trail on foot guessing that we'd be hiking or running somewhere close-by.

We then got our specific clue to tell us where we were going. 

"Follow the blue trail to the Upper Falls"

Jamie and I sprinted down the boardwalk trail for maybe 200 feet and that's when we saw it. 

The sign that said,

"4 MILES"

Ummm, boy did we RUN...

and RUN

and RUN.

This was not a nice smooth, flat trail either. About 90% of it was full of tree roots that stuck up a couple inches. I was certain one us was going to roll an ankle (we didn't). We just kept running and running. There were hills, stairs, and winding trails only 5 inches wide at times. It felt NEVER ENDING. We ran for a good solid hour.

I've never pushed myself so hard. 

In my whole life.

And Jamie and I just kept encouraging each other. We were determined to pass the teams in front of us.

And we DID!

When we finally saw Greg standing at the opening of the trail ahead of us I almost started crying my eyes out. I thought we were never going to get out of that forest.

And this was the picture right after that insane run where we got our next clue....

We ended up falling behind after this point in the overall race, but that was definitely my #1 Amazing Race highlight. Hands down.

Other things we did but I didn't get pictures of:

- I shot a gun. A real live gun people. We all got to shoot at a clay pigeon as one of the team challenges.

- Nik ate 75% of a fish he caught RAW. No lie.

- Jamie and Greg kayaked out on a lake to find a clue in the middle of the water.

- Nik dislocated a rib trying to get a Nutrigrain bar in the back of the van. Also not kidding.

- We played disc golf as a team on the hardest course ever with the worst plastic frisbee ever. Don't ask what our score was.
- Jamie did one of the fastest memory challenges I've ever seen.

- There were so many beautiful lookouts and beaches we saw (for very brief moments that is).

Team RED placed 5th overall in the race. But, we were all so proud of ourselves for never giving up, and having (mostly) good attitudes throughout. What a great experience to have with good friends!

If you EVER hear of one in your area, get yourself signed up!

It's one of the best experiences you will ever have. Seriously.

***

I was finally able to upload a clip from the race after I posted this.

We were often unsure of our whereabouts. This clip is a perfect example...

We ended up going exactly where the next clue was. It was just a LONG drive through the middle of nowhere.