Glorious Backyard Adventure

 Sorry, Mom . . .

Can't come now . . .

I'm fighting the sun!

This Guy

Remember this guy?

After 19 months . . .

of booty-skooching . . .

and a drawer-full of worn out knees . . .

he's finally . . .

up and running!

Chalkboard Inspiration

Inspired by Dana Tanamachi's amazing chalkboard creations, as mentioned by these two bloggers, 

I decided to jazz up my dining room chalkboard this week.

I've enjoyed keeping a passage of scripture or some other poetry or lyrics displayed in this busy space. Hopefully, these true and restful words can give my soul a moment of pause and reflection 

even while I'm wiping mashed eggs off the floor or giving a spelling test (or both).

The look I was trying to achieve with this hymn took some pre-planning on paper in order to determine how the phrases could fit together in an eclectic way while still being readable and balanced. 

I especially like how the word "Grace" stands out in the center of the board.

Praise God for the sufficiency of Jesus' blood and rightousness, 

and the sure anchor of his unchanging grace which holds us safe, 

even in the midst of the whelming flood. 

 I'm looking forward to seeing this daily reminder in the weeks to come.

Monday Meal Planning {and an easy talapia recipe}

I'm still doing my weekly meal planning, although I haven't posted the plan in months. 

Lately, I'm planning in style with this fun paper given to me by a friend. 

We have a lot of standard meals that tend to show up often on the plan. One of our new favorites is 

Lemony-Garlicy-Buttery Talapia. It meets all my meal requirements: healthy, easy, fresh and pretty. 

I use this recipe as a starting point and then just wing it.

Basically, combine a few (3-4) tablespoons of fresh lemon juice with 2-3 tablespoons of melted butter, a teaspoon or so of minced garlic and a few tablespoons of fresh parsley (or dried).

Pour the mixture over the talapia filets and bake in a 375 degree oven for 15 minutes, 

or until the fish flakes when you cut it with a fork.

The talapia is nice served with Israeli couscous 

and a roasted vegetable (asparagus or brussel sprouts). 

Enjoy!