Yes, I was one of the crazy people at the theater last night to see Breaking Dawn Part 1.
I had to get up at 5:00 am this morning with only 2 hours of sleep.
Yes, it was worth it.
I am really really tired, and I am waiting for it to at least be 8:00 pm before I go to bed.
Yes, I will do it when the next one comes out.
My family sponsors a little girl in Uganda named Charlotte. She is about 5 years old. We aren’t sure her age because her parents left her outside,and never came back. A neighbor saw her outside,and they took her in. Before October she was just a picture on a piece of paper. After getting to meet her, yes in Uganda, she is really apart of our family now. I can not describe the feeling I had when I first saw her. It was like seeing one of my own kids. She was very quite,but she knew I belonged to her:) Her guardians kept calling her mama. So someone in Africa calls me mama they same way my kids do. I was able to visit her home,and she where she was abandoned. Charlotte's favorite thing that I gave her was a photo album of our family. She just kept looking at each picture,and rubbing the pictures. Each of the kids had written her a note,and drew her a picture. When other kids tried to hold my hand she would say, “My Mzungu “! Mzungu means white person in Ugandan. I pray God takes me back to visit her again,and my dream would be to take the kids to meet her. For now through we will continue to pray for her,and write her letters. It still amazes me that God has allowed me to have a “daughter” all the way in Africa.
I love this girl! It makes my heart smile to see this picture.
This picture was taken almost a year ago. You can see how much she has grown. This is also the first picture we ever had of Charlotte.
One day I hope to have a picture of all of us together:)
This was in her home,and at first I felt bad because it was very small. After seeing other homes in the bush it made me feel better about her home,and conditions.
This is the home Charlotte’s parents rented,and it is also where they left her.
One of the hardest things I have ever had to do was leave her. I know God has great plans for her, but it was just so hard. All I could think was how hard her life was,and how easy my kids have it. But I just kept thinking of Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." I trust my God,and I know He always keeps his promises.
This is Noah’s last year for Donuts with Dad because next year he will be in middle school. So Corey made sure to attend. He normally has to be at work at 6:00 am ,but he is going in late today. Noah is so excited when his Dad can come to school. With his crazy work hours it makes it difficult to attend stuff that happens during the day. After they eat their donuts they will head to the gym to play Knock Out ( basketball game). I know Corey treasures these times too.
Lately my soon to be teenager is just grumpy,and most of the time unpleasant to be around. I know this is a phase that will last a couple of years..lol. I know there is a sweet boy somewhere down inside there.It’s just hard to see right now:) Every once in a while I get a glimpse of the young man he is becoming.
Once they are in middle school it is hard to really keep up with what they are doing unless they tell you. Well Kain doesn’t really volunteer a lot of information about anything that goes on. I usually find out through a messaging system his school has or another parent tells me. Well this morning on the way to school he mentioned something about reading to a kid. Kain is not the best reader,and until this year he hasn’t enjoyed reading at all. Thankfully his awesome ELA teacher, Mrs. Brackett, has gotten him into reading,and he actually likes it! Well when he mentioned reading to a kid I thought it was kind of odd. I asked him who he read too,and he said he volunteered to go read in the special ed room every Monday. His “buddy” loves reading about Nascar so that is what Kain reads to him. He said that his friend would be upset if he found out Kain really didn’t like Nascar so he just pretends to like it. He would NEVER be that nice to his brother or sister,but that’s OK. I love that he looks forward to going every Monday to visit his friend,and I am sure his “buddy” loves to see him too.
My heart was so full this morning I almost cried ,but that would have been the end of him telling anything! Just when I think he isn’t getting anything from us, or at church he surprises his mama. I love that boy!
I am always looking for quick,and easy meals for my family. I do not enjoy cooking so if it was up to me we would eat out every night. My family would prefer to eat at home, and plus it cost so much for a family of 5 to eat out. So if I can find some thing to throw in the crock pot I am one happy mama. My friend, Summer, told me about a recipe for taco soup. She had found it at Crockin' Girls along with a ton of other great recipes. It was a hit with my family,and it will definitely be on our list of future meals.
I browned the meat before I left for work,and dumped it all in the crockpot. Since nothing really had to cook just heat up, I put it on warm all day. When I got home it was nice,and hot. Hope you enjoy!
1 can light red kidney beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can black beans
1 can great northern beans
1 can diced tomatoes with garlic
1 can rotel tomatoes
1 can corn
1 lb ground beef
1 envelope taco seasoning
1 envelope ranch dressing mix
fritos for topping
shredded cheese for topping
Brown and drain meat, add all ingredients except Fritos and cheese (DO NOT drain any cans except black beans....you don't have to drain black beans but if you don't your soup will turn dark and not as pretty!) and cook until hot. I top with Fritos and shredded cheese. Easiest recipe ever and it makes a LOT of soup!
We left out the black beans,and corn. We also topped it with sour cream.
