Turducken #1

Here is Mike with our turkey. We actually saved over half of our grocery shoping so we could get a free turkey. Our store had a promo where if you buy $100 worth of groceries you would receive a free 15lb turkey and if the turkey weighed more (which ours was 18lbs) then you paid the price per pound which was only .99c. So for the whole turducken it was $23.

Many asked so here it is :)

I know many of you asked what in the world we were thinking at Thanksgiving. As many of you know Mike does something different with the turkey each year and this year was no exception. We poured over a bunch of different ideas but the one that kept coming back to us was the Turducken. I wanted to capture this memory as it was one full of laughter and exhaustion, lol. So I tried to take pictures all throughout the process and even kept a time log for this beast :) Let me know if you try this out and what you think. We thoroughly enjoyed our tasty endeavor. For your viewing pleasure (well the only yummy looking picture is when the bird was done) here are the recipes, directions, and pictures.

Black Bean Crockpot Stoup Recipe

So, I've been craving black beans, but only had an idea of how to make them. I finally took a few recipes and mixed them together to make this stoup. A stoup, for those who do not know, is a middle place between a stew and a soup, it is usually more chunky and think, but still a bit watery, if that at all makes sense, lol. The great part was everybody enjoyed it. The nice part about this is that you can scoop out some of the beans and put on a tortilla for a burrito or on chips for nachos, or just in a bowl for stoup :) Here's the recipe, let me know what you think.
Ingredients:
1lb Ground Turkey meat cooked up till browned and seasoned with garlic salt, drain fat
1 16oz bag of dried black beans
1 small onion chopped
1-2 cloves of garlic crushed
1-1 1/2 Cups of salsa
Optional Toppings
cheese
sour cream
avacodo
green onions chopped
Put black beans in crockpot and pick out all the beans that are cracked or broken and discard them. Place chopped up onion and garlic into crockpot as well. Add enough water to beans, garlic and onions so that it will cover the mixture plus about 1-2 inches higher. Place lid on it and cook on low all day. That night drain all the contents of the crockpot into a colander. Add beans, salsa and cooked ground turkey back to the crockpot. Add water or chicken broth till desired thickness is achieved. Let cook for about 30 minutes (doesn't take long if you have just cooked the ground turkey as that will be hot) or till everything is heated through. Now the fun part. Put stoup in bowls (liquid and all) and sprinkle with whatever toppings you like, we did avacodo, shredded cheese, and sour cream, Mike and Brandon made theirs into burritos so they used a slotted spoon to put the beans onto a tortilla and made it that way. Our family consumed the entire contents of the crockpot, so we will probably have to do two bags next time for a couple of left overs. Hope you enjoy and let me know if you make it, what you think, and what tweaks you made to it.

Holding our children's hearts...

"No one else named “Mom” lives in our homes and holds our children’s hearts and lives like we do. Let’s not miss our greatest ministry!" I received this out of a great e-mail from a friend (thanks Kim) that just smacked me up side the head and these two sentences were the last ones on that e-mail. As I read that I looked and saw how many opportunities I miss because I want myhouse clean, or I want homeschooling done, or I want my kids to act just right, or sometimes even my husband, but how many times have I missed their hearts? I know that is one of the biggest reasons why we homeschool is for our childrens hearts. Isn't it amazing how God can put a simple sentence on our heart that makes us search so much deeper for Him and for Him for our family?!

Annika is 7!!!

Can you believe it?! My baby girl is 7. Yes she is still has tiny as ever, wearing only size 5 clothes, but she is amazing. Some of the many accomplishments she has had this year: Horseback riding (thank you Chelsey for making that dream a reality!), sewing - yes with a real sewing machine, she has made a double sided apron and a Christmas stocking with a pocket for her stuffed baby monkey, reading and writing like a whiz, and drawing everything she can. We were blessed to have some dear friends come over and be a part of her special day. Hope you enjoy seeing the pics. Have a great week!!!

Amazing Classes!!!

This last weekend I had the honor of going to not just one but 2 amazing classes. It is very rare that you find people who are at an expert level who can explain what they do and how they do it to a novice like myself. But God has been putting people in front of me who do just that.
At 8am I went to the Fair Oaks Horticultural Society. The Master Gardners there were doing classes on all different winter stuff. The one I wanted to learn about was gardening in the winter. The MG was so awesome. She gave me a pamphlet of when to plant what, and invited me to come back next month, to open garden day, and ask any questions I had. After that class I rushed to the library grabbed some books and headed to a cooking class that I received a complimentery pass too. God worked ahead on that one as well. I really wanted to go this class but couldn't bear myself to spend $35 for it. Low and behold we got a package from our chiropractor and his office and there was the certificate in it :) Dr. Ken and Rachel, who taught the class, have such a passion for serving God through teaching others. They had so many great tips recipes. We got to try everything!!! I brought home some recipes and today we are going to make the muffins. I'm going to do Rachels tip and make a double batch and freeze some for quick healthy breakfasts. It was so much fun.
On another positive note: Mike got his grade back from his first Chemistry test. He not only got an A+ but got the extra credit for 4 extra points. I'm so proud of all his hard work.
Not only is Mike going to school but he is joining us for co-op this year. The kids are so excited! Mikey is taking "Exploring the Human Body" and "Games, Sports, & Songs", Annika is taking "Cup Stacking" (which if you don't know what that is go to www.youtube.com and type in cup stacking, you will be totally amazed) and "Draw Write Now", Joshua is in a "stories and craft" time and also has a snack and game time, and Mace will be in the nursery. Mike is going to be doing worship for the entire group. Please keep him in your prayers as I know he truly wants to glorify God and bring kids into a great worship experience.
Well that about concludes last week, lol. Hope all of you are having amazing weeks as well!!!

Still crazy but slowing down

It is amazing to look back and see how God has been working. Mike was able to get into every class he needed to. So my hubby is now taking Microbiology, nutrition, chemistry, and is taking class at the University of Phoenix. He is now in school 7 days a week, but all different times of the day. It does make for a hectic schedule, but we are learning to work around him.
I just received the grades for my first 2 weeks of school and praise God I'm doing good. It is truly by the grace of God that we are even making it through this. Only 2 years and 50 weeks to go, lol!