The most delicious pizzas ever...

Have you ever grilled a pizza.  I was skeptical, but the girls and I decided to get Daddy a pizza grill pan.  It is basically a metal pizza pan with small holes all over it.  Would we like grilled pizza? Would it burn easily?  There was only one way to find out.  We made 2 homemade pizza doughs. The girls had a blast doing this!  We used a basic dough recipe found online.  Nothing special...flour, yeast, water and olive oil.  The dough grew and grew, which was awesome to watch, and kneading the dough was like playing with playdoh!

We divided the dough to make 3 pizzas.  We pinched a small amount off of each batch to make a small desert pizza...YUMMY!

This pizza we made in the oven for 10 minutes on 400, and then broiled for a minute on high...

S more's Pizza - YAY!

Dough
2-3 Tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chocolate chips
12-15 large marshmallows - halved
1/4 cup graham cracker crumbs

Knead the sugar and cinnamon into the dough.  Place on a parchment lined pan and bake for 5-6 minutes.  Remove and add chocolate and marshmallows.  Return to oven for another 5 minutes or until everything is melted and the crust is done.  Broil to get that nice char on the marshmallows for the campfire feeling, and sprinkle with crumbs before serving!

We also made a regular peporoni and cheese pizza...extra cheese on Daddy's side.  The key to grilling the pizza is grilling the crust for 5-6 minutes and then flipping.  Add your toppings and return to grill for another 5-7 minutes, or until cheese is melted and crust is ready.

And finally...the best pizza ever!!!!  Get ready for a Philly Cheese Steak pizza!  Sooooo easy and sooooo delicious!

3-4 Tbsp of evoo

1 tsp onion powder

1 tsp garlic powder

1 tsp salt

1 baby red pepper

1 banana pepper

1 jalapeno - if desired

8 oz. deli style roast beef

1 1/2 cups of cheese - we used cheddar and mozzarella

And the best part!  Don't question, just do it...

1/4 cup A1 steak sauce

Spread the crust with oil and sprinkle with spices.  Bake or grill for 5-6 minutes.  Add chopped peppers, chopped roast beef and shredded cheese.  Drizzle with A-1 and bake or grill for another 5-7 minutes.  Hope your family enjoys!

Today's Verse

"I will praise thee with my whole heart" Psalms 138:1a

Wednesday is pizza time...check out our new way of telling time over at http://showingjoy.blogspot.com/2014/10/telling-time.html

Colors

I am officially a soccer mom!  Wow!  How did this happen?  I don't even know all the rules to soccer!  I am a sports fan.  I can honestly say I completely understand the game of football (unlike my mom who asked how many innings there were in our big football game this weekend...lol!).  I love basketball and I love baseball, but now I must learn to love and understand soccer.  With my girls on two different teams, and my husband coaching my oldest's team...I am left with a lot of the dirty work of planning for practices, snacks, texting parents, etc.  Two different schedules and games overlapping, this should be awesome!  I am basically living at the soccer fields for the next month and a half, but we are excited.

After a late practice last Monday, we rush home to get super on the table, baths and spend a little time playing a game as a family.  My mind was going a mile a minute.  I was thinking of the other practices (don't forget there are still gymnastics, dance, co-op and church things too), the 4 dentist appointments on 3 different days, my husband leaving for the west coast and taking a red-eye back, school pictures, and you get what was going on.  I was worrying over how the week would get accomplished and if I would keep it together as it progressed.

Then in a moment, I looked up.  I was washing my hands at my kitchen sink, when one of those AAHHHHH! moments took place...

The picture doesn't do the sunset justice.  The colors were amazing.  The view was breathtaking.  The effects were so calming.  It was going to be a tough week.  But the Lord would give me moments like this to remember to take a deep breath, enjoy this hectic life, be thankful for my family, spend time with Him to give me strength, and always notice His beautiful creation. 

Today's Verse

"The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork."  Psalms 19:1 ESV

Take time enjoy and be thankful for the world the Lord created for us!  His colors and the reminders of His love are amazing!

Head over to showingjoy.blogspot.com to see a cool color project the girls did!

Negative Talk

My daughter recently told me she heard on the TV that "so and so" was a bad person.  "So and so" is replacing a politician's name.  Now I know politics are important, but I am not a fan of it. And right now, those attack adds are everywhere for a major race happening in our state.  Now the person she said was bad, happens to be the one our family will more than likely vote for.  So I tried to explain things for my sweet 7 year old to understand.

Thinking about it later that day, I wondered how many time she might have heard me be negative about someone.  The rude lady at the checkout, the mom that hurt my feelings, etc.  She's listening to the world around her, including me!  I don't want her to hear the negative talk, and I never want her to hear me being negative about another person.  Not only is she listening now more than ever (because we are together 24/7 while homeschooling), but she listening and absorbing the information, the reactions, the positive but also the negative.

I want her to look past the bad and find the good!  Always finding the best in people.  Realizing we all have bad day...but forgive and move on.  You can't always believe what you hear.  And the list of lessons to be taught is endless.

Being positive and building others up...that is what I want my daughter to hear!  No Negative Talk!

"Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do."  1 Thes 5:11

I'm watching what she says, and I'm making sure we talk about what she might hear on the tv or news.  But most importantly I'm making sure she understands that negative talk is not something we are going to do in our family, and we can all help each other out by reminding each other to focus on the good!


I posted over on Showing JOY about a fun thing we did last week!
Check it out!

Learning Cursive

Does anyone still write in cursive?

It is not my choice of script, but I sure have been relearning the don't lift your pencil letters with my second grader since school started last month.  It is hard!  It is tedious!  But, much like they say you never forget how to ride a bike, it is all coming back to me.  When I had to write Genesis 1:1 on the board this morning, it just flowed out like I had not taken a 20 year break from the beautiful loopy letters.

Does it matter that she learn to write in cursive?  I guess so...she needs to learn to sign her name!  But there are not many people that still use this form of writing.  Well, in all actuality, we are mostly typing these days and not writing at all...texts and emails make up our communication, not the handwritten letters of old.  Online banking has taken the place of writing checks.  And the list of new technologies that make paper and pen a thing of the past can go on and on.

I like the methodical feeling of never lifting your pencil. There may be hesitation as we learn and relearn, but once in the habit, the letters just happen and are beautiful.  We can't stop and think about it too much...just like life!

When I over analyze, hesitate or worry about the next thing, life seems to start to fall apart.  We have to 'let go and let God' as the saying goes.  Let life happen, trusting that He will make the events flow together for our good.  (Rom 8:28)  We don't know the future, but we know WHO holds it.

When I don't think too hard about the letters I'm writing, the beautiful, easy-flowing words appear.

When I don't think too hard about the trials I am facing, the beautiful, easy-flowing memories can take place in the midst of a not so beautiful world around me.

I'm not perfect in my cursive writing, and I never will be.  I will not ever be perfect in living without worry either. I will have sleepless nights and anxiety that seems to overtake on some days...but in those moments when I hand it all to God, the peace seeps in the broken places and I know it will all be ok somehow.

Today's Verse
"Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." John 14:27b


Soooooo....I did start a homeschool blog.  I'm not sure how good I will be at keeping it up, but as always, I will try my best.  I did post a cursive activity we did if you would like to check it out!
https://showingjoy.blogspot.com/

Mmmmmm Muffins

Hands down, this is the best muffin recipe ever!  It freezes well, they are super tasty and they have peaches and walnuts inside.  I am not even a huge peach fan, but these are irresistible.  I saw a different version of this muffin on another site, but I have made a few changes and the result is sooooo yummy!  I wish I had a picture, but I can't seem to keep them long enough to take one :-)

To freeze, I just wrap individually in wax paper and freeze in freezer bags.  Heat for 30-45 seconds and they are amazing.  I hope your family enjoys!


1/2 cup of butter, softened
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup lowfat plain yogurt
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 cup chopped fresh or frozen peaches
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
2 Tbsp brown sugar

Cream butter and sugar.  Add egg and yogurt and vanilla and mix well.  Combine flour and baking powder, stir into creamed mixture just until moistened.  Do not overmix.  Fold in  peaches and walnuts.  Fill greased muffin cups 3/4 full.  Sprinkle with brown sugar if desired.  Bake at 375 for 18-25 minutes.

Catching Up!

Sooooo....

Well it's been a while.  Not because I intended it to be.  Nor because I didn't want to post.  It just sort of happened.  Each day went by with very few moments for computer time.  Hardly any TV time. Just lots of fun in the sun and using our imaginations!  I'm not going to whine and cry that it is September...but I do think it might make me feel better.  Seriously!  But here we are in another school year, and we are ready for anything!  I blinked and the summer was over.  It is suppose to be hot hot hot here in NC this week, so it is not exactly fall yet.  But there is no pool (sniff) and too hot to go to the park (sniff sniff), so what in the world are we going to do?  Time to be looking up some Pinterest ideas!

Oh, and by the way, we are homeschooling this year for our second grader...YIKES!

So I really do hope to post more.  I am debating a separate home school blog.  I am excited.  I am scared.  We are beginning week three...and second grade is hard!  I previously did not write in cursive, but I do now.  It took me 8 times to write September in cursive yesterday on the board when preparing for today.  No joke!  I am thankful for this opportunity, and that I feel God has truly called us to do this for this school year, but I am overwhelmed!  My little one is still going to preschool three days a week, and we are participating in a cool co-op.  We have church; we will be starting soccer soon, and the little one is still in dance and the big one in gymnastics.  Life is still crazy plus doing all the school work.  But, I am just referring to my fave verse often...Phil 4:13... to sustain me.

Our theme verse for our home school is 2 Peter 3:18..."But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.  To him be the glory both now and for ever.  Amen."

Part of our mission statement says..."Learning to put Jesus first, others second and ourselves last." This is otherwise known as JOY.

J - Jesus first
O - Others second
Y - Yourselves last

This is something that can be hard for everyone, but we are trying to really instill this in our kids this year.  It will be an interesting year.  There will be some tough times...there already have been!  But we will grow in grace, we will learn more about Jesus, and we will hopefully come out of this in May saying this was an awesome experience!

Breaking

10 years.  For over ten years my husband and I have been married and now in July, (YIKES IT IS JULY) we will celebrate 10 years of living in our house.

Our small, little, cute and cozy house.

A "starter home" as they call it.  A home where newlyweds start their lives together.  A first place to call our own.

The two couples before us lived in this home for the first three-four years of their marriage, but once they had a child, they moved to a bigger home.

We assumed we would do the same.

We loved the house...and we still do...10 years later and 2 kids later!

Our plans didn't pan out.  The times we have tried to sell have been a no go.  We laugh sometimes about how long we have been here, and we cry sometimes too.  We pray and wonder what God has in store.  We joke about living here forever...and we just may...only the Lord knows.

But after 10 years, everything is breaking. Just in the last three months we have replaced the roof, the ac unit, and last week we had to get a new washer.  And while it was being delivered we discovered our doorbell is not working!

Everything is breaking!  And in return I have days that I feel like I am breaking too!  With everything that seems to be going wrong, there are times I don't want to begin the day for fear of what will happen next.

There are so many stories of feeling broken in the Bible, and David is a great example.  He could be at his lowest, but yet still praising God.

Today's Verses - Psalms 40:1-3a

I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.

He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.

And he hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God: 

When I had a morning last week that I just wanted to feel broken all day, I thought of these verses. We are waiting as patiently as we know how, and we have to stay on the rock and not fall back into that miry pit.  

I read a great piece of advice today in The Secret Place.  "While we wait for the big, life-changing events to take place, we often ignore the small things.  They seem insignificant, but...they can change everything."  

Wow!  We can't let life pass us by waiting for what we think should happen.  We are on His time, and we can't break and pout while we wait...or we could miss all the other blessings happening around us!

Focus on trusting not breaking...  Ps 11:1a "In the LORD put I my trust"  

Focus on the blessings not the hardships... Phil 4:19 "My God shall supply all your need."

Focus on making today the best it can be not what could happen tomorrow...Matt 6:34a "Take therefore no thought for the morrow"

Focus on His strength not trying to do things by yourself...Phil 4:13 "I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me."  

Focus on Him and we cannot break!

The place I love the most in our darling house is our kitchen.  It made me smile the moment we walked in the very first time!  We have been spending a lot of time in the kitchen this summer...cooking and doing summer workbooks so as not to forget all we learned in preschool and first grade!  One of our favorite recipes also doubled as a science experiment...homemade marshmallows.  So good and so yummy!  So neat and fun!  Also, plain gelatin is sold in 4 pack boxes.  The marshmallows call for three, so I also included the pie recipe we used for the leftover pack.  Very tasty, especially if your family loves berries like we do!  We hope your family enjoys!

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-marshmallows-recipe.html

Pie...no photo, sorry!  

http://www.recipe.com/creamy-berry-pie/