Bible in 90 Days: Week 11 Schedule

Hello all!

Today's post is going to be brief.  Our family recently lost a loved-one and I don't feel like I can put together a complete thought right now, so be on the lookout for a post mid-week.

Here is this week's schedule:

Day 69, Monday, July 18th
Zechariah 11:1 - Matthew 4:25

Day 70, Tuesday, July 19th
Matthew 5:1 - Matthew 15:39

Day 71, Wednesday, July 20th
Matthew 16:1 - Matthew 26:56

Day 72, Thursday, July 21st
Matthew 26:57 - Mark 9:13

Day 73, Friday, July 22nd
Mark 9:14 - Luke 1:80

Day 74, Saturday, July 23rd
Luke 2:1 - Luke 9:62

Day 75, Sunday, July 24th
Luke 10:1 - Luke 20:19

MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

Thanks, Wife of a Sailor!

1.If you could have a private concert with any singer, who would it be? submitted by An Air Force Wife’s Blog
Oh.  My.  Gosh.  Seriously?  That would be a dream.  Now, you're either going to laugh at me or be in complete agreement.  Hands-down, Josh Groban.  I love his music!  Joel and I went to a concert (really, Joel took me there and sat next to me) in 2005 and it was amazing.  He's a rare artist - one of the few who actually write their own music, can sing as well as they record and can play instruments - well.  He's referred to as "my boyfriend" at home.


2.Is there anything you do to supplement your family’s income? submitted by Our Life, One Adventure at a Time
No.  I choose to blog for myself and not for profit.  If anything, I try to take advantage of any coupons I can use - they're free money!

3.During your pregnancy (whether past, present, or future), what did you nickname your unborn baby before you knew the sex? submitted by Explosions of Love
Joel nicknamed Grace "bubbers" and we still call her that.  I think we called Autumn "The Baby".  Original.  I know.  One thing we didn't call either child was - it.  I hate that.  If anyone ever called the girls "it" while I was pregnant, they were corrected.

4.Have you ever won a blog giveaway? If so what did you win? submitted by Mrs. O’s Life
I haven't.  I haven't been great about submitting for a lot of them.

5.If I looked into your refrigerator right now, what would I find? submitted by Married to the Army
This is one of my favorite questions ever!  I used to get Rachael Ray's magazine and loved the last page that had a photograph of a celebrity's refrigerator - it's so telling.
Milk, cheese, juice (lots of juice), strawberries, grapes, condiments, mars capon cheese, whipping cream, Diet Coke, hot dogs, tortellini, Lunchables, yogurt, ricotta cheese, Cabernet sauvignon, Jello-O, pudding, homemade strawberry jam, buttermilk, wheat germ, coffee

Wednesday Wit: Vurp

My friend, Janna, has a really great blog - full of honest moments as a mom and wife.  She does a regular post called Wednesday Wit, which is full of all the crazy things her kids say.

I thought I should join in on the fun.

While in the car tonight...

Grace:  Sometimes I get those funny burps.
Me:  Really?  What is a funny burp?
Grace:  When a little bit of the stuff comes up from your stomach.  The yellow stuff.  It gets in your mouth, but I just slurp it back down.

Is it okay to tell her that it's called a vurp? 

Homemade Strawberry Jam

Our family loves strawberry jam.  We go through tons of it - between Joel and his English muffins and the rest of us and our sunflower butter sandwiches.  Joel doesn't like us to eat a lot of high fructose corn syrup, so I end up spending a lot of money of jam that is simply fruit and sugar.  It's about $4 for a small jar.... for just fruit and sugar!

My friend Karla over at The Culinary Enthusiast, recently posted a recipe for strawberry freezer jam that I knew I had to try.  Her and I have canned jam before and the process was just too much for me.  Last week, I had a bunch of beautiful strawberries and gave strawberry jam another try - and it was so worth it!

Here is what I did:

4 lbs of clean strawberries

I used a huller clean up the berries

4 pounds of hulled and halved strawberries

Instead of mashing 4 lbs by hand, Karla recommended using the food processor.

I pulsed the berries until I got the texture I wanted.

Here are the pulsed berries

4 cups of sugar & 12 Tbsp of no-cook pectin

I combined the sugar/pectin mixture for 3 minutes & then filled-up my freezer jars. 

The jars sat out on the counter for about 30 minutes before I put them in the freezer.

4 lbs of berries made approximately 15 cup of jam.

I used freezer containers that I purchased from Bed, Bath & Beyond.

This recipe is really, really easy!!!  I couldn't believe how simple it was and how quickly I was able to make 15 cups of jam.  I think in total, it took me less than 1 hour from the time I rinsed the berries to the point I was able to put everything in the freezer.  You'll have to try it.

To see Karla's recipe and much prettier pictures, head over here.

Bible in 90 Days: Week 10 Schedule

Week 10!!!!!!  Holy smokes, I can't believe it!

There was a lot of heavy material in our reading this past week.  While reading through Isaiah and especially Jeremiah and Lamentations, we saw a God sick of sin.  He was angry and wrathful - not two of His most warm-fuzzy attributes.  But His anger and wrath are as much part of Him as His love, grace and mercy.  In the midst of Lamentations, where things are desperate, there is a wonderful theme of mercy that prevails.

But this I call to mind,

and therefore I have hope:

The steadfast love of the LORD never ceases;

his mercies never come to an end;

they are new every morning;

great is your faithfulness.

"The LORD is my portion," says my soul,

"therefore I will hope in him."

The LORD is good to those who wait for him,

to the soul who seeks him.

It is good that one should wait quietly

for the salvation of the LORD.       

-Lamentations 3:21-26

Here is this week's schedule:

Day 62, Monday, July 11th
Ezekiel 23:40 - Ezekiel 35:15

Day 63, Tuesday, July 12th
Ezekiel 36:1 - Ezekiel 47:12

Day 64, Wednesday, July 13th
Ezekiel 47:13 - Daniel 8:27

Day 65, Thursday, July 14th
Daniel 9:1 - Hosea 13:6

Day 66, Friday, July 15th
Hosea 13:7 - Amos 9:10

Day 67, Saturday, July 16th
Amos 9:11 - Nahum 3:19

Day 68, Sunday, July 17th
Habakkuk 1:1 - Zechariah 10:12

One Year Ago

One year ago, Joel and I had a restless night's sleep.  We woke up anxious.  I cried about a million times before we loaded all of his bags and our two girls into the car.  We gave lots of hugs and kisses and said goodbye, not knowing what the next many months would be like.

Over the past year we have

grown

cried

struggled

learned

prayed

adjusted

worked

maintained

healed

loved

I have learned so much this past year.  God has been ever-faithful.  Our family is strong.  And there is an abundance of love in our lives.

I am so thankful to be in a different place today than one year ago.  I am thankful we are together again.

Source: imagecache.artistrising.com via Ashton on Pinterest





MilSpouse Friday Fill-In

Thanks, Wife of a Sailor!

1.Does your Significant Other read your blog? Why is this a good or a bad thing? submitted by Mrs. Alana’s Miscellany
Sometimes.  I think Joel read it more while he was overseas - it was a good way for him to get insight into what I was feeling and going through while he was gone.  I usually felt reserved while we were on the phone because I didn't want to burden him with the stresses at home.  But this blog, I think, helped him to get a better idea of what I felt about his deployment.


2.What is one item in your house that holds the most sentimental value and why? submitted by The Albrecht Squad
Besides my wedding ring (because it's usually on me).. I would say the manger that Joel made for me several Christmases ago.  When I was young, my dad along with our neighbor, built a manger to hold my mom's nativity scene.  It is something that I've always loved and probably my favorite Christmas decoration that my parent's have.  A few years ago, Joel took some rough measurements without me knowing and completely surprised me when he revealed the manger that he built for me that looks nearly identical to the one my dad built for my mom. 

3.When it comes to water fun in the summer do you prefer the beach, the pool, a lake, or the sprinklers? submitted by The Turvo Times
I love the water, so it's a toss-up between the pool and the lake.  I love lounging by the pool and doing laps, but I also love boating.... haven't been in the water much, though.

4.What is the one special thing that you do for yourself to get you through the first week of a deployment/separation? submitted by A Creed and a Psalm
I try to stay busy so that I'm distracted.  Last time, I spent the first day at my parents and then had playdates and activities with friends planned throughout the week.  I think the first month and the last month are the hardest.

5.What is your biggest guilty pleasure website? submitted by Christine’s Little Blog
I'm going to pick two.  I just love anything beauty-related.  So, I have two beauty blogs that I visit several times a day:
I love Karen at Makeup and Beauty Blog.  She's so funny and has a good balance of providing great product information with entertainment.  Hers is the first blog I ever read, and for the last couple years, I've been an active follower.  She's also great about replying to comments, which I really appreciate!
 
I also really enjoy Christiana's beauty blog - Temptalia.  She has tons of posts a day - great swatches and product reviews.  She's really straight-forward and I trust her opinion.

Source: cherry-blossom-world.blogspot.com via Vicki on Pinterest

 
Happy Friday, everyone!