"My mama would be proud of you..."

Her children arise and call her blessed;
her husband also, and he praises her:
"Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all."
Proverbs 31: 28-29


     Picture for a moment Aunt Bea from the Andy Griffith Show: motherly, caring, nurturing, always taking care of others, never selfish, but fiesty enough when necessary!  This was my mother-in-law.  She was one of the most amazing women I've ever known, and I miss her terribly even though it's been over ten years since we lost her to cancer.  Sadly, the deep appreciation I have for her wasn't fully realized until many years after her death.  She was 38 when my husband was born, and although she had previously worked outside the home, she then took on the role of stay-at-home mom and full-time housewife, a position she proudly maintained for the remainder of her life. 
     When I first married David, I was in graduate school and just completing my first year of teaching.  I had big career plans and no intentions of ever sitting around the house all day. (Stay-at-home moms, don't throw anything at me yet!  That was simply my perception at the age of 22!!!  I, too, spent several years at home when my kids were little.  I know how much work it is!)  At that point in time, I was the least "domestic" woman on the face of the Earth.  I didn't know how to cook or clean or do anything that an "old-fashioned" housewife should do.  That was partially my fault:  In 8th grade, I petitioned the junior high school administration so that girls wouldn't have to take home ec!  It was also partially my mom's fault:  She did absolutely EVERYTHING for us!  She had good intentions, but I was actually handicapped by the lack of independence.
  Back to my mother-in-law...she loved me dearly.  I have no doubt about that.  But (and let me preface this statement by saying that she NEVER made me feel this way; it was all in my head) I never felt like I would be good enough for David because I wasn't her.  I didn't know how to "take care of him" the way she always had.  Again, let me paint a picture for you:  a spotless house, no piles of dirty laundry, an amazing meal on the table EVERY DAY when my father-in-law walked in the door from work, the list goes on and on.  I saw those tasks - the cooking and cleaning - as CHORES, things to be dreaded.  I didn't know how to do those things, nor did I care to learn.  Now, 15 years later, I know that those things were expressions of her LOVE for her husband and children.  She took pleasure in taking care of her boys!
     Most important to my mother-in-law, however, was not the house or the meals.  Most important was the sense of HOME that she created.  It was a place everyone wanted to visit.  You were always welcome.  There was an overwhelming sense of peace and tranquility the moment you walked in the door.    It was something I had never known.  I had lived in a tumultuous household, often full of chaos and confusion.  My in-laws' home was a sanctuary.  Unlike the housework, however, this sanctuary was something that I wanted, something I worked hard to try to create, sometimes succeeding, sometimes failing, but always trying. 
    It's taken nearly 15 years to reach the point where I am today.  Where I feel like the effort to create a "home" is really materializing.   My kids (even the pre-teen) love being at home and tell me often how they have such a great life!  I've even had a change of heart about the cooking and cleaning over the years.  I came to the realization that my husband also saw some of those little things as MY expression of love for him and our boys.  It was the kind of love he was raised on: selfless, serving, giving LOVE!  As I embraced that fact, I began to take pleasure in preparing meals for my family.  No, I still don't like the dirty laundry or the stinky toilets, but I have a better attitude about doing those things for my family when I remember that I do those things out of LOVE. 
    Last week, I received the ultimate complement from my husband.  "My mama would be proud of you," he said gently.  No words could have meant more.

Cheesy Potato Soup

I haven't made potato soup in a while.  We've had a very mild winter here in South Mississippi, and I just haven't felt like eating soup...until this past weekend when we actually had temps in the 20's!!  I had a little challenge this time with my potato soup thanks to my 12 year old.  You see, he ate potato soup at his friend's house about two weeks ago, and he was certain that the other mom's soup was better than mine!  I set out to prove him wrong.  After he took the first bite, he said, "Hmm...I still think hers is a little better!" Then, he proceeded to eat THREE full bowls of soup!!  Even though he wouldn't admit it, I think I won hands down!

Ingredients:
4 cups potatoes, cubed
4 cups water
2 cups milk
1/4 cup flour
1/4 cup margarine
2 large onions, chopped
1/2 cup celery, chopped
1/2 cup carrots, sliced
3 cups cheddar cheese
green onion, chopped (optional)
crumbled bacon (optional)
salt and pepper, to taste

Directions:
1.  In large pot, boil potatoes in 4 cups water.  Do not drain.
2.  While potatoes are boiling, combine milk, flour, and margarine over medium heat.  Stir regularly until heated through.
3.  Add milk mixture to boiled potatoes and water.  Add onions, celery, and carrots.  Return to boil.  Reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes.
4.  Add cheese and stir until thoroughly melted.  Salt and Pepper, to taste.  Garnish with crumbled bacon and green onions.  Serve hot.

Look at how far I've come...

     My husband and I will celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary this summer!  I was lying in bed tonight thinking about those early days of marriage, and I felt compelled to get up, grab my laptop, and share a few of those thoughts with you.  When we were first married, we rented a little house full of charm and character.  It was such a "cute" house that I signed the lease on it before David had even seen it.  Bad idea!  We soon learned that this charming old house was full of flaws.  For one thing, it had no central heat.  There were two wall-mounted heaters:  one in the kitchen and one in the bedroom.  These were supposed to heat the entire house, but they certainly didn't! 
     Now you have to understand that I am terribly cold-natured, so waking up to a cold house every morning was torture for me.   However, my sweet husband - still in a state of newlywed bliss - would get up every morning before me, walk across the cold house, and turn on a small space heater in the bathroom.  He would wake me when the bathroom was warm and toasty so that I could get my shower in comfort.  I know that may seem like a small gesture, but it was one done out of love.
    I had so many dreams in those early years of the kind of wife and mother I would be, but for many, many years, I felt like I had fallen short of those high expectations.  There have been many times that I have felt like a complete failure as a woman, and I felt alone, like all other women knew what they were doing and I was the only one who ever struggled.  As women, I think we sometimes alienate each other by putting on a false front, refusing to show any weakness, therefore making other women feel inferior.  I felt that way for years, sometimes spending weeks, even months at a time, in a state of deep depression. 
    Years ago, I made a copy of the Proverbs 31 passage about the noble wife and placed it in my "Mommy Notebook" that I use to keep schedules, menus, grocery shopping lists - all the things that help my house run smoothly.  I have read the passage every morning since my boys were little.  But for a very long time, instead of seeing the verses as an source of encouragement, they often served as a reminder of all that I wasn't!  You see, no matter how hard I tried, I just couldn't see how I could ever become that kind of woman.  I felt like a failure!
     However, something changed in me last summer, about the time of our 14th anniversary.  God opened my eyes to an entirely different perspective of my role as a wife and mother, and my role as a Godly woman.  I had seen that "noble wife" as an unattainable goal, but God revealed to me that those verses of scripture were meant to serve as a guide for the JOURNEY toward becoming all that He created me to be.   Most importantly, He opened my eyes to the fact that I couldn't do this alone.  Only HE could lead me on this journey.  We can never become that kind of woman on our own.  Only HE can lead us toward that ideal. 
     Amazingly, as I began to accept this truth in my heart, my entire life began to change.  I had lived the previous two years with sometimes unbearable depression; but I began to awaken to the blessings in my life and a joy that only God can provide!  My marriage had suffered; but where old love had died, new love grew!  I had often felt unproductive and ineffectual; but everything I had tried to accomplish over the years suddenly began to "click."  Over the past 8 months, I have felt more capable and confident than I have in years.  I am a better wife, mother, homemaker, and teacher.  And I know, more now than ever before, that God is in control of my life and only He can help me become all that He wants me to be!

Quick n Easy Pizza Puffs

Looking for an easy meal that kids will love?  Try these!

Here's what you'll need:
Pillsbury Pizza Crust (refrigerated roll)
1 pkg. pepperoni
1 cup mozzarella
1/2 jar pizza sauce

1.  Roll out pizza dough.  Cut into four sections.
2.  Chop pepperonis into small pieces. (I've also simply cut them into quarters or halves, but little pieces work better.)

3.  Mix pepperoni pieces, sauce, and cheese.  Spoon mixture onto dough, and pull dough around the mixture to make a ball.
4.  Bake according to pizza dough directions.  My oven takes a little longer...check regularly and bake until golden brown!

5.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and catalina dressing.  Enjoy!

Master Closet Organizing

In this project, my client wanted an organizing facelift for her amazing master closet! Because of a lack of clear organization, the beauty of this closet was hidden. You will notice in this first "before" picture that her shelves held a variety of different types of items. It was difficult for her to find what she needed because her belongings did not have a specific "home" in the closet. She had the right idea with the large basket under the shelves; however, it had been filled with a wide variety of pieces: winter gloves, bathing suits, summer cover-ups, hats, gloves, and more. Additional hats were stored on the shelves, and many paperwork items were mixed in here and there.

In the "after" picture from this same viewpoint, you'll see that I started by removing the items from the basket and making the basket the permanent home for nothing but her extensive collection of hats! The items that had been on the two shelves under the window were sorted. Many of them were boxed and included in her hall closet. (See previous blog about the "junk" closet makeover.) Other odds and ends were placed in cute baskets on the shelves that previously housed hats. Clothing pieces that had been placed amidst the hats were neatly folded and placed in the canvas baskets beneath the window. Both sets of baskets were found at Wal-mart and were relatively inexpensive. Be sure to measure your space to make sure the baskets will fit BEFORE you purchase them. As I sorted through the closet contents, I found many different purses and handbags - all in different locations in the room. I found a great hanging purse file at Bed, Bath, and Beyond for $7.99 and used it to house the purses. The pockets are large enough to fit most bags. 

These next "before" shots reveal her hanging clothes. Because they were not organized in any way, it was difficult for the owner to find what she needed AND she was unable to get a good picture of what she actually owned. When clothes are all mixed up like this, you may find yourself buying pieces you don't really need or forgetting about some of your old favorites!

I began by sorting the clothes by style. All of the strapless shirts were hung together, as were the sleeveless shirts, the short sleeve shirts, long sleeve shirts, and sweaters. Pants, shorts, and skirts were done the same way. Then, within each category, I sorted by color. For example, all of the client's black pants were hung together. When I finished, she realized that she had over 10 pairs of black pants. Now she's ready to purge and will have great yard sale items! I also used all new hangers to create a sense of continuity and visual order in the closet. These white plastic hangers are only $1.17 for a ten-pack at Target. Replacing your hangers may be something that you don't want to budget for all at once, but you can buy a pack a week and have a nice, neat closet in no time at all. 

So, what happened to all the items that were overflowing in the large basket on the floor? I actually sorted them into four medium-sized wooden baskets that we placed on the shelf above the hanging clothes. These baskets came with liners we had monogrammed so the contents would be easy to find: winter accessories, swim suits, cover-ups, and summer bandanas and accessories. This part of the project was the biggest expense because they were high quality baskets and we had the additional cost of monogramming. However, they were a needed element to make the project complete. If you are on a tight budget, try to shop around and look for sales and clearance items. Occasionally, stores like Michael's will have 40% off sales. If you are patient, you can find good deals!

Whatever your budget and whatever the size of your closet, you can use these basic concepts to create order instead of clothing chaos!

"I'm just not a morning person..."

As early as I can remember, this statement has been true. When I was in high school, my mom and I used to fight in the mornings because I wouldn't get out of bed. She would stomp to the top of the stairs and enter my bedroom fussing and fussing. In true teenager style, I would moan and groan and refuse to budge! One morning, she came upstairs to my bedroom six or seven times trying to get me up. The final time she topped the stairs, I mumbled some smart-mouthed comment and rolled back over. About that time, I hear "boom-boom, boom-boom, boom-boom," as she tumbled down the wooden stairs. I remember reaching the top of the stairs to see her lying at the bottom motionless. All I could think was "I've killed my mother." Fortunately, she escaped the fall with only a badly bruised arm, but it could have been much worse! For some time after that, the guilt caused me to try a little harder to get up in the mornings...but guilt will only take a person so far!

Fast forward a few years...my younger sister moved into an apartment with me during her first semester in college. It also happened to be my first year teaching, my first year in the "real world." I think they left out an important part in my College of Education coursework. No one, I mean no one, had bothered to tell me that teachers had to be at work at ridiculously early hours in the morning. Yes, I had completed my student teaching the previous semester, but I had not a clue that showing up for work at 7 A.M. would be a regular expectation! What a disaster...it was a miracle that my sister and I didn't kill each other that year. She can attest to this day that I made her life miserable because I was so cranky in the mornings.

So, at the end of that year, I married the man of my dreams, my high school sweetheart! You would think that after dating for almost seven years, very few things would surprise me; however, little did I know that he is what I like to call an "early bird." I don't just mean that he wakes up early. I mean that he wakes up early acting like he just won the lottery!! He is happy, cheerful, energetic, and full of life - long before I can even open my eyes, much less utter noises that even remotely sound like words!

We are polar opposites in this way; even after 14 years of marriage and two kids, I still struggle to get out of bed each morning. Instead of my mom standing over me fussing for me to get up, it is now my husband who has to fret about my morning habits. Quite honestly, all three of my guys are usually up and moving before I am truly awake. Yes, I am out of the bed when the kids get up, but it takes me two cups of coffee and an hour of peace and quiet (try getting that in a house full of "early birds") for me to get going each morning. Now, here's where the problems arise. My sweet husband has usually cooked breakfast, cleaned the kitchen, and started the kids on their morning routine before I even make it out of the shower.

Now I know what you "early birds" are thinking: this woman is just pure lazy! And I know that at times my husband thinks the same thing. Nevertheless, I know that I have tried to become a better "morning person." It just doesn't come naturally to me. It's something I have to work on each and every day. I have not yet become the Proverbs 31 noble wife who "gets up while it is still dark." And if I do, I ain't too happy about it! (Pardon the grammar...just trying to make a point!) So, I've set a little goal for myself. This week, I'm going to get up when the alarm goes off, without hitting snooze or moaning and groaning. I may not sing a happy tune or dance a jig, but I will try to be a pleasant person for the short time we four have together before we begin the busyness of our daily lives. I challenge you other "non-morning people" to join me on this little journey, and for all of you "early birds," don't forget to encourage us along the way!

Spinach Fiesta Casserole

   My husband and I created this new recipe together in the kitchen one day last week.  I was browning chicken for stir fry when he came into the kitchen and started digging through the pantry and freezer.  He began adding random ingredients into the skillet with the chicken, and this yummy meal was created in no time at all!  It's a delicious dish that will have your kids begging for seconds.  Another great way to get them to eat spinach.  Hope you enjoy!!

Ingredients:
vegetable oil
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cubed
1 bunch green onions
1 bell pepper
1 onion
(I know I've mentioned this before, but I use Pictsweet frozen chopped bell pepper and onion to save prep time.)
1 16 oz. bag frozen spinach, thawed
1 can Rotel tomatoes
1 can white queso
3 cups cooked rice (Use instant to make this a quick n easy meal.)
1/2 cup shredded monterey jack cheese
1/2 stick butter

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350.
2.  Make 3 cups instant rice.
3.  Lightly coat a large skillet with vegetable oil.
4.  Over medium-high heat, saute chicken, green onions, bell peppers, and onions until chicken is done and onions are clear.
5.  Add thawed spinach, Rotel, queso, cooked rice, monterey jack cheese, and butter.  Stir until butter and cheese are melted.
6.  Pour mixture into a 9X13 casserole dish and bake for 20 minutes at 350.