Menu Monday: Nourishing Body and Soul

 

This week was full of celebrations, so we have a mix of new and tried-and-true recipes coming your way! I’m getting excited about grilling/salad season coming my way, that’s for sure! Come on, lettuce, green beans, tomatoes, and the rest of the garden! You can do it!!!

Monday: Leftover Grilled Chicken and Spinach Berry Salad

What we loved: This chicken and salad combo was the tail end of what we served for small group a couple of days before. I was happy we had enough left to feed us this night! I always like it when a grilled dish (especially) can last a few days. Work once, eat for many days!

Tuesday: Inside Out Cheeseburgers and Cucumbers

What we loved: Ryan and I both loved the flavoring in this burger recipe. It was really good! The cheese in this recipe was supposed to be tucked inside the burger, but we just ate the cheese on top like a normal burger. (Here is a similar burger recipe.)

Wednesday: Bible Study Snack Party. I took Better Than Anything Bars

What we changed: Our Bible study party took this night, and everyone pitched in a favorite snack. This became my dinner, and my contribution were these cookie bars. I did bake it quite a bit longer than the recipe called for…it was hard to tell when it was done because of the melty chocolate and the gooey caramel, but it definitely needed more than the time on the recipe. Next time I would definitely make it a day in advance to give it adequate time to fully set up before cutting the bars.

Thursday: Dinner out at Joseph Decuis

What we chose: I haven’t told you about my fancy birthday dinner yet, but Ryan surprised me with a meal at Joseph Decuis, which is a wayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy fancier place than we ever ever go. We shared a hummus board and then I had a kale salad and seafood gumbo, and Ryan had coq a vin. It was all very, very good. (The gumbo was super spicy, but it was great.

Friday: Pizza from Casey’s

What we chose: This was a last minute choice that wasn’t the healthiest, but after working in the garden five straight hours, no one wanted to cook, and we were out of leftovers. Pizza for the win!

Saturday: Sloppy Joe Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

What we loved: This was a nice full meal that made ample leftovers! The meat mixture has enough add ins with the onions, peppers, and diced tomatoes, that it stretched the meat. I love it when that happens. I made extra baked potatoes for us to split, so I was glad we had a little more to go with the extra meat!

Sunday: Amish Breakfast Casserole (For Appreciation Breakfast) and Leftover Sloppy Joe Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

                             

What we loved: The breakfast casserole is a longtime staple in my recipe box, and I love it that I can assemble it the day before and bake it the morning I need it. That’s what I did for our hospitality team appreciation breakfast on Sunday! (I also served fruit and biscuits and gravy, but I did canned biscuits and canned gravy, so I can’t take credit.) Then we had the leftover sloppy joe sweet potatoes for dinner, and they warmed over very nicely!

Sunday Scrapbook: Moments from the Week

 

Good morning, friends! This is the day that the Lord has made! I will rejoice and be glad in it! This week has been filled with so much goodness, and my heart is full and grateful. Here are a few of the many highlights!

Last Sunday was Mother’s Day, and we celebrated with Mom by taking some dessert to her and Dad. She was extra witty, and we had a good afternoon laughing and hearing her stories. (My aunt and cousin had visited last week and left some photo albums for her to look at. They were filled with pictures from family I never met, and it was fascinating to see the pictures and read the stories.)

Swiss Village had an (inside) parade for the residents on Monday. Different departments created themes for all the employees to dress up, and Ryan’s department went as pirates. He had the best time with his costume, but Lexi was NOT SURE about that. It was really funny to watch her curious/go-away reaction before he left for work!

Indiana FINALLY warmed up enough to plant, and the very first day I knew we were in the clear, I was out there planting 53 plants. I was so sore by the end of that night, but I had the best time working in the dirt, making the house pretty!

Last week was our final week of study in our Nehemiah Bible study at church, and this week we had our end-of-year party. I loved all the stories in the room, all the laughter, all the recipes shared! It was such fun to see everyone coming together for a night of fellowship, and I left with a full cup!

My birthday was Thursday, and while I’ll tell you more about it later, suffice it to say it was just the best day. Ryan spoiled me from start to finish, and he surprised me at every turn. The biggest surprise of all? A proper fancy dinner out. I did not see that one coming. Probably should have brushed up on which forks to use. 😊

I was profoundly thankful that Friday was also a nice day, and Ryan and I were able to have a bit of extra time in the afternoon (plus all evening) to finish the outside work. We planted the rest of the flowers, finally planted the garden, put the pontoon in the water, and cleaned up this and that around the outside. Our original plan had been to do all this on Saturday, but a full-day-of-rain forecast pushed up our plans. It was such a nice evening.

And yesterday was a glorious Sabbath. I spent hours in commentaries, deep-diving into Bible study. Ryan and I went for an extra-long walk. I made bread and a double batch of granola. AND I refilled all the pretty jars in the kitchen. Why does that bring me so much joy? Just refilling the oil and honey jars? I don’t know, but it does!

Saturday Suggestions: Inspirations for Your Weekend

 

                This week has been such a gift. The whole week has felt like a giant breath of fresh air. So needed. So welcomed. So grateful. I will tell you more about the fun moments tomorrow, but for today, I’m giddy to be home. All day. A true Sabbath. Rest and catching up and preparing for things to come. I may not even get out of my jammies this whole day.

                So while I Sabbath over here…I’ve got some fun finds for you!

 When I was growing up, I loved finding house floor plan books at garage sales and picking out my favorite ones. (Massive Victorians always won.) I think it’s funny now, to see my love of such things pre-Pinterest! Anyway. House plans randomly pop up on my Pinterest feed and I clicked on this one the other day just to see it – and could not believe it took me to Walmart’s site! You can buy floor plans at WALMART??? I guess you really can buy everything there! I saw several more “similar items” listed below the one I looked at, and then I had to giggle because the next suggested item to purchase with the floor plan was a box of latex gloves. I think if I were to build a house, I’d get a little sturdier gloves.

Karalyn’s work on this 1930s apartment is so beautiful. I loved reading about her dedication to restore, preserve, and still make this a beautiful home. She has a great eye for design, and I LOVE it that she kept so many original details in the kitchen! Be sue to look at all the pictures in the gallery as well as reading the story!

WOW. This is one of the best posts I’ve ever read about how to love the home where you live. Heidi approaches cozy-home-love from a beautiful perspective that most influencers skip right over – in the name of influencing, of course. I learned a few things from her post that are already helping me rethink our own home and what matters inside this place. I’m excited to keep chewing on her words and implementing what she teaches.

I grew up in a household that absolutely honored the Sabbath. I did NOT appreciate some of the rules that came along with that honoring, but I also didn’t really understand Sabbath. Now that I’m older and have a better grasp on what it means and what it requires, I love it. I love observing it. But it’s still hard. It’s hard to live in a world where people constantly host events on a Sabbath day. I still have much to learn about how to best observe and honor the Sabbath, and this post really speaks to that!

Even though I’m not a teacher, I find that I enjoy teacher-inspired clothes on wardrobe roundups. I suppose I like the mix of comfortably dressy to cute casual that most teacher wardrobes seem to include. So this was a fun inspiration board to discover recently! So many cute pieces on here, and so many great ideas for how to match them!

 Nancy’s screened-in porch makeover provides one of the hardest-working rooms I’ve seen in a while. Need a natural-light-filled room? Check. Need an office? Ceck. Need a place to relax? Check. Need coffee? Check. There isn’t a single thing in here I don’t love. And that little corner couch may be the cutest thing I’ve ever seen in my whole life!

Friday Fun: Mother's Day

 

WOW! Yesterday was so much fun! Thank you, Ryan, for my beautiful post (that made me cry) (twice) and for all the wishes you all sent through all the various ways. I can’t wait to tell more about my truly special day, but I need some time to write about it.

                Meanwhile, last Sunday was Mother’s Day, and I want to tell you about that!

                As most of you probably know, I was born on Mother’s Day, so even though the collision of my birthday and Mother’s Day doesn’t happen often, I still have a special fondness in my heart for celebrating the two together.

                Mom and Dad aren’t able to get out for church anymore, and their current dining room isn’t ideal for guests on the regular, so we decided to go visit them after lunch with a special dessert.

                I made the cute little strawberry shortcake muffins and packed them into a cooler along with fresh berries and ice cream – and bowls and spoons!

                They were just finishing lunch when we arrived, so we walked them back. My sister had visited the day before and brought a bouquet of flowers for Mom – from all of us. I wanted to get her picture with them, and this was her solution.

                She’s so funny! We did get a proper picture and then I about fell over backward in heels trying to kneel down to her level for our official holiday photo. It was very entertaining.

                Mom doesn’t often take pictures anymore, but she wanted to take one of Ryan and me with dad, so I helped her get the camera app open and she took this one:

                Ryan and I gave her a card, stayed to visit for a while, and then we headed home for jammies and a nap!

                Lexi was kind enough to sit with me for Mother’s Day, so here is our photo.

                It was cold and windy, but the sun was so pretty we just had to suit up for a Mother’s Day walk around the lake!

                I treasure each year that I still get to have Mom here with me for Mother’s Day, and this one was special, for sure.

Thankful Thursday: Happy Bekah Day!

Today is one of my favorite days of the year!  It's my sweet Bekah's birthday!  She is the queen of celebrations, so it's fun being able to celebrate her today.  She juggles so many things in life along with managing to be brilliant, beautiful, and hilarious.  So, won't you celebrate her with me?

You make life better for so many!  You're wise, insightful, and grounded.  You study hard and are always prepared when you speak and teach.  It's been a joy watching you grow into your pastoral role in our church and hear how much people are learning!  I love seeing how you are using the gifts God has given you! 

I appreciate so much how you and Lexi prepare our meals and make sure we are well fed every day!

You're such a great dog mom to Lexi Grae!  She adores you and as excited as she is to see everyone, she can always depend on you for lots of love and long hugs.

 It's been a beautiful hard year in many ways, but this was definitely one of the highlights!  It was great hearing you on the radio again and seeing how excited you were to be a part of the celebration at WBCL.  That was definitely a love in your life that you enjoyed (I think) more than you even knew.  Maybe again someday...

I love spending time with you, especially walks around the lake with you and Lexi.  It's great to talk and laugh with you as we enjoy warm Windiana days!  

Along with our walks I also enjoy all our adventures!  From coffee dates, bike rides, hiking, or anything that requires signing a waiver you are always willing to jump (or sometimes be pushed 😁) into doing things in and out of your comfort zone.

This little guy loves you so much and you love him right back!  His eyes light up every time he sees you.  You are patient and kind with him in amazing ways.  It's always wonderful to see you two together! 

As we have been purging, cleaning, and organizing the office (and so much more) I love seeing how life giving it is for you and how it brings out your creative side.  You do a great job of taking care of our home in so many ways!

It's been a hard journey for your parents this year as well.  I love seeing how you walk this road with them.

 

If I could give you one thing today, it would be the ability to see yourself through my eyes: how radiant you are when you smile, how your presence brings me calm even in chaos, how your love has changed me in more ways than I can ever say.

Enjoy celebrating this day of your birth and don't ever forget how much this guy loves you!

Happy Birthday!

-Ryan

Wednesday in the Word: Beauty

 

                Remember last week when I said I’d come back to Psalm 37 this week? I might have meant two weeks!

                But I want to tell you today the piece of Scripture that ran through my head over and over yesterday.

                The day was a bit rough. Nothing major happened, but I struggled through a bunch of strong feelings and worries. In a rare twist, we had a night at home, and I had read that it was safe to begin planting, so I decided to plant as many flowers as possible in one evening.

                After dinner, I made my way outside, pulled out the plants, the dirt, the trowel…and I began turning dirt over and over in the planters. I loosened it up, smiled at the squirrels’ treasures that cycled to the top, and scooted browned leaves to the side.

                I nestled new plants in their homes for the summer, tucked them in with fresh dirt, and gave them long drinks of water.

                And all the while, I celebrated the intricate beauty God made. And I remembered these words from Matthew 6: “Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin, yet I tell you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? Therefore, do not be anxious…”

                These sweet little plants have been hanging on for dear life in the wild temperature swings Indiana has thrown at them…the wind, the sun, the rain, the cover of the garage, the field trips to the patio. And honestly, some of them look a little ragged. I planted them, prayed over them, and trusted that the God who clothes the grass of the field cares about petunias and tomatoes.

                And I remembered that the hard parts of the day are fleeting. The things that settled over my heart and made me sad are temporary. They won’t unglue or undo me. The Lord knows and has the solutions already worked out.

                Meanwhile, what a privilege it is to tend to my flower pots, to give homes to baby beauties that will grow and provide joy to us and to all who make their way past our home.

                If your day is peppered with worries and fears, maybe a few hours in the garden or the flower bed can bring you some joy, too!