Rainy Day Recipes

Oh look!  It's raining!

Can you hear the sarcasm in my voice?

I finally gave in today after endless days of cold, clouds and rain and did two things that are out of the ordinary for me.

1.  I bought a cup of coffee.
2.  I stayed in my sweats!

I know, I know.  Talk about living life on the edge!  That's me!  Usually the craziest I get is neglecting to make my bed (gasp), but this cold weather is doing strange things to my brain!

Sarcasm aside, I have to tell you about this delectable soup recipe I got from my mom.  I made it a couple of days ago, and the fam ate it ALL!  Yes, I said ALL of it!  This a monster-size recipe, ok!  I planned on freezing half of it for a rainy day (har, har), but they discovered the tupperware container hidden in plain sight right there in the freezer and before I knew it, my Williamsburg Inn Turkey Soup Made With Chicken was gone.

So, my friends, grab your slippers, change into sweats and prepare yourself for some good ole rainy day comfort food.   

Williamsburg Inn Turkey Soup

Combine in large saucepan:
1 chopped onion
3 sticks chopped celery
2 large chopped carrots
1 quart chicken or turkey broth
Cook for 20 minutes.

In separate saucepan, blend:
1 cup melted butter (I never said this was fat-free)
1 1/2 cups flour
Cook together until bubbly.  Add to vegetable mixture.  Turn heat to low and stir slowly.

Then add:

1/3 cup cooked rice
1 pint half and half
2 more quarts chicken or turkey broth
3 cups cooked chicken or turkey
1/2 teas chicken boullion
salt and pepper to taste

Heat slowly to serving temperature.  Freezes well unless the kids find it.





Now, I want to hear from you!  I'm hosting my first linky party!  At the bottom of this post, you can link up to your blog to tell us about your favorite winter recipes.   All I ask is that you grab my button on the sidebar and link back to me somewhere on your blog.

Link away!


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New Series Coming Soon!

The ideas I share on this blog are, quite often, not original with me.  Through the years, I've gathered thoughts on becoming a better mother, wife, organizer, cook, etc through books I've read, studies I've done, and by watching other women.

There are many women in my life whom I greatly admire.  Through them I've learned the importance of being silly with my kids.  By listening to the older women in my life I've learned that a warm, humid kitchen produces better homemade bread, that potty training doesn't last forever, eye level is best when speaking to children, and that caring for our families should be considered an honor in our eyes - rather than a drudgery.

So, I've asked several of these women to consider sharing some of their life lessons, their highs and lows, and even some embarrassments of motherhood.  But, I need your help.  If you are a women who has reached the "Empty Nest" stage of life - or you have a woman like this in your life, I'd love to send you a questionnaire.  Please contact me here, and we'll get started!

Titus 2, of course, came to my mind where it talks about the older women teaching the younger women to love their husbands and children, so stay tuned - the Titus 2 series is coming soon!

Also, don't miss out on the Giveaway going on right now!

What's Your Message? A Giveaway!

In my home, I have tried to create an atmosphere that not only welcomes friends and family, but also speaks to my children on a daily basis.  One of my goals as a mother, is to raise children that know they are wanted and that they belong!  I've heard Dr. Phil make a statement that children should feel like they've won the mom and dad lottery, and I like that.  Even further, I'd rather they feel that they've won the family lottery!

There are many ways to show a child that they are wanted.  One option is through the walls of your home, so today I'm giving you a peek into some of the things I've been "telling" my kids.  PLUS, I figured it's about time for another GIVEAWAY, so stay tuned!

YOU BELONG!

I took a silly picture of our family, edited it to say "When I count my blessings, I count you twice", framed it and set it in our entryway.  I doubt my kids stop and think about it at this age, but I hope it is sending a message to them for the future - You belong!  You are wanted!

The "Welcome to the zoo!" is one of my favorites and sums up how life at our house feels most days.  It brings a little comic relief when I wade through the backpacks, coats, hats, gloves, bats, footballs, helmets, shoes, boots, bags of garbage that still need to go out, lunchboxes, wet socks and... well, you get the picture! 

In our dining room, I added a saying I bought through Uppercase Living (by the way, did I mention a GIVEAWAY?).  "Together is a wonderful place to be" is now posted below pictures of our four kids.  I'd like to add a picture of Tim and I yet.  The plate on the table is one that Amy and I enjoy adding messages to with a dry erase pen.  We change it with the different seasons of weather... or life.

Another way I've been telling my kids they belong is so simple, fun, and rather popular right now.  Each child has their names on their bedroom walls.

I found the letters at Hobby Lobby and spray painted them.  Tyler's letters are my favorite size, but since I'm a tightwad and the letters cost $9 a piece , I decided to go with his nickname instead.

Amy has her name in her room as well.

GOD LOVES YOU!

Above all else, I never want my children to forget that they are special in God's eyes and that He loves them!  I never want them to lose sight of the fact that we are here to bring glory to Him!  

I've talked before about using page protectors to post chore charts, etc around the house for the kids.  I also use the protectors to post verses for the children in different areas of our home (including the shower).  That's how they learned the books of the Bible and continue to learn different memory verses.

I also hung this favorite in our entryway:

and just recently added this to the mirror in the kids' bathroom:

It's a little difficult to see.  I wish I would have ordered it in white.  But, I love it!  It says "You are fearfully and wonderfully made" and I bought it through Uppercase Living as well (let's see, have I mentioned a GIVEAWAY?  I thought I did... hmmm..).

As my kids get closer and closer to teen years, I want to reinforce in their brains that they were made in the image of God.  I always want them to believe and know that they are special in God's eyes and no matter what the world tells us about how we should look or what we should be, we are fearfully and wonderfully made.  In God's eyes, we are just right!

Now, if you only glanced at that picture, please go back and gaze at it a little while longer.  I know, I know... now you'll notice the streaks and fuzzies left by the paper towel, but look anyway.  Why?  Because for that little peek into our bathroom, I had to clean the mirror, wipe down the counter, put toothbrushes away, scrape dried toothpaste globs out of the sink, gather the trash, change the light bulb, hunt for another light bulb, steal a light bulb from another lamp, add "light bulbs" to my grocery list, climb on the counter to replace the light bulb, kneel down in the hallway at just the right angle to get just the right picture... and then cropped most of the picture off.

Whew!

So please, give the picture the time and attention it deserves!  :)

LIVE JOYFULLY!

There is enough in life to keep us down, so another message I am trying to send my children is to live life joyfully.  Here are a couple (sometimes humorous) ways I've done that:

So, what's your message?  How are you telling your family they are wanted and that they belong?  I love hearing from you, and look forward to getting more ideas!

Now, I'd like you to meet Elisha Day.  Elisha sells Uppercase Living products, and is the one who helped me design some of the expressions for my home.  I loved her willingness to help and her ideas.  If you are interested in finding wall expressions for her home, visit her here!  Her online catalog has so many ideas for your home and I can't wait to add more to the walls of our house soon!

Better yet, Elisha has given me not one, but TWO $15 gift certificates to GIVEAWAY here on Walking on Water!  

So, how about it?

You in?

Here are the rules to enter:


* The giveaway ends on Monday, October 3rd at 10AM.
* Leave a comment for your first entry.
* For additional entries: (Leave me a comment for each)
             -Subscribe to my blog
             -Like my blog on Facebook

Have a great day!



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Busy... Busy... Busy!

I haven't blogged much lately. Obviously! :) But you're never far from my mind. Even in the craziness of life in Carpenterville, I wonder how those who follow my blog are doing.

I pray for you, too! I ask that God would bless you with peace and joy. That your hearts would be full of His hope and love.

I wish there was time for us to sit and chat everyday... a few moments to encourage one another in our personal walks of life. But there's always that dreaded "B" word - BUSY.

How in the world does life get so busy? And how many times do I catch myself saying that hated word - BUSY? I realized not long ago that I say it a lot. A friend of mine asked me why in the world I am always so busy and it stopped me in my tracks.

Why am I so busy? And is it good... or bad that this is the case?

After much thought, I came to a conclusion - I. Don't. Know.

I just stay (cringe) BUSY. And here's a little peek into what I've been up to!

Summer kept us BUSY with baseball, softball, VBS and camping. It seemed as though our lazy summer days were over in the blink of an eye. We spent many days swimming at Meemaw's pool and checking irrigation with Tim.

Our family has a lot of summer birthday's so that kept us BUSY too!

 

Corey, Amy and Kobe's animals had a birthday in August. THANK GOD their birthday's all fell on the same day! To celebrate, we made brownies in the shape of a doggie biscuit and sang Happy Birthday.

Unfortunately, we missed A Boy - Kobe's tiger, and just this morning, Kobe informed me that TODAY is A Boy's birthday. I'm out of brownies. Hopefully Kobe will forget. :)

In August, we also made a trip to Chicago's Brookfield Zoo. On our way there, Tim and I got the great idea that we should visit the zoo, then take the kids to Willis Tower (Sears Tower), and finish the day off with a Cubs game at Wrigley Field.

After an hour trekking around the zoo, I backed out of the Willis Tower idea (I am insanely fearful of heights). A couple hours and one $10-hamburger-fries-and-a-coke-meal-split-six-ways later, our aching feet and empty wallets convinced our brains that home was sounding better and better. We pulled into our own driveway about an hour before the Cubs game was scheduled so start.

With age, comes much wisdom!

Then school started. This is the first year that all my kids are in school!

Corey entered 1st Grade.

Amy is in 3rd

Kobe is in Pre-K

and Ty is in 7th.
I wasn't allowed to follow him to class and take his picture.  :)

Throughout September, I've been BUSY canning with my mom and sisters-in-law. My shelves are filled up with peaches, spaghetti sauce, beans, apple pie filling and much more. Just this morning, we canned our applesauce and those jars are waiting to be washed and put away. What a blessing!

Canning days are always BUSY, but lots of fun! I will always cherish the memories of good family conversation over lots of hard work. I can't wait to tell you what we talked about today! But that will have to wait for another posting. ;)

Yesterday, Ty turned 12 and I made the decision to push pause on life (If only, right?).

It's is perfect right here! No teenagers yet and we're done with the poopy-pamper stage! We have kids old enough to enjoy fun family activities but still young enough to think Tim and I are smart and cool! Plus we're still enjoying a four-year-old with all those funny four-year-old sayings! (Last night, Kobe was whining that his dog doesn't know what adjectives are. As if he does!)

So, that's life. BUSY! But it's ok. It's just part of the Signs of Life... and I'll take it!

Looking ahead for Walking On Water:

- Another Redemption Story is in the works! I'm excited about it and can't wait to start posting it!

- Another Giveaway! Hoping to do that this week! Maybe even tomorrow!

- And of course, lots of positive encouragement to help you through this thing called Life!


Have a wonderful, not-too-BUSY day!
~Lynette

Shine Like Stars!

It was a beautiful end-of-summer evening.  Tim was playing football with the boys in the backyard, and Amy and I were walking around the grapevine, snacking on the last bit of sweet goodness. 

Before long, it was bedtime, but Tim gathered us together as a family in the middle of the yard.  As he often does, Tim began pointing out the wonders of creation to the kids and soon they too, were commenting on the beauty they saw.  Kobe loved the pink clouds God had made in the sky off to the west.  Corey said he was thankful that God had made our family and that we all loved each other (aww.. melt my heart!)  Amy and Tyler chimed in with their own observations and I sat back, drinking in the moment.

I stared up at the sky as we continued around the circle, talking about the splendor we could experience right here in front of us.  The sun had not yet gone down so to my disappointment, I couldn’t see the stars.  Then the thought crossed my mind, “The stars are still there, I just can’t see them.”  Hmm..  Hadn’t thought of that one before!

Since then, I’ve continued to contemplate this new (for me) concept.  In our world today, “being a star” is the goal of many.  We want to be noticed.  We want to shine!  But to be a true star, means to be constant… faithful… full of light… to shine - even when nobody’s watching.  A star remains true to its calling even if a million people are lying back in the grass enjoying its beauty… or when those same people are rushing about their day completely oblivious to its beautiful shining existence. 

Our instinct is to only “shine” when people are watching, but being a true star, means continuing to pour out the light that is within both day and night.   

Monday mornings spent doing laundry or packing lunches aren’t very glamorous, but shine on, sisters!   Planning meals or going to work day after day gets old and boring, but shine on!  The mundane appears meaningless in the light of day, but you have a calling!  You’re called to shine - even when no one is watching! 

The real beauty of each star is this – God made it special and unique.  And He hasn’t forgotten where He placed each individual star.  He knows them all by name.  Today, let His light fill your life so you can shine brightly to those around you – whether they notice and appreciate your beauty… or not.  Shine on!

Do everything without grumbling or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky as you hold firmly to the word of life.   Philippians 2: 14-16a  NIV

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