Coffee for Breakfast

I've been enjoying my kitchen lately. Unusual in this hot weather, but we have to eat. I've pulled out the crockpot a few times. I also pulled out the bread maker. So far we had crockpot roasted chicken, roasted Brussels sprouts, and crusty bread the first night. I then tossed the bones back in the crockpot with a few veggies and filled with water. This slow cooked overnight to make some awesome chicken stock. After freezing an ice cube tray full, a pint jar, and two half pint jars, I added the rest to my large Dutch oven. I sautéed onion, garlic, celery, and carrot in a little olive oil, then added that to my stock. I threw in most of what was left of the deboned chicken and a half bag of egg noodles. Topped off with some salt, pepper, and a little Italian seasoning, this is a wonderfully flavorful chicken noodle soup. So much is leftover after a Sunday lunch with more of our crusty bread, we will probably have soup again...twice. I still have some deboned chicken that will ma...

Daydreamy that is... As my husband and myself are approaching a certain age that is not considered youngsters, we find ourselves thinking hard and often about our future. We feel like now is the time (even though younger would have been better!) to really consider how we would like to live our older years together. We are young enough, and healthy enough, to make our future comfortable...if we work on it NOW. We have some lofty goals to meet. We have moved over fourteen times during our marriage. Most moves were job transfers. Because of the temporary timeline of some of these jobs, we made a decision to rent rather than buy. Renting was necessary until we were in a place we would "settle". Since we have been in our current area for about 5 1/2 years, I guess we are staying. We now find ourselves at a point in life where most of our peers may be paying off their mortgages, or close to it. We find ourselves just beginning. We are finally ready to buy. We have locat...

Today began with coffee, as usual. Then I helped my husband get our huge yard back in order. He is such a hard worker, if I don't help him, he will spend every day this summer forgetting how to relax. Relaxing is at the top of my agenda. After I put a new routine in order, I'm hopeful that we will make a lot of fun, laid back memories. Just a few things I want to make happen over the next couple of weeks: Homemade ice cream...I bought an unused (still in the box) electric ice cream maker last year that never was used.   Keeping a large gallon of lemonade/tea made at all times  Picnic at the lake and swimming or fishing   Fireworks show  Produce stand  Popsicles for the grandkids   Lots of journaling and self care (because that is my current stage)  Finishing my 4th of July quilt (from last year) I also managed to make a menu plan for the next couple of weeks. Breakfast plan is to keep it simple. I'll just rotate bet...

A busy mom needs a way to unwind. For me that usually means it's time for a project. I spent the week homeschooling, driving teens to and from work, running the household (or maybe it was running me), and trying hard to complete my very ambitious to-do list. I wasn't able to check off everything on my list this week, but I've decided to be satisfied with the things I managed to accomplish. Sometimes a girl just needs to create. I spent the better part of an evening embroidering the first of three pictures that will hang in my laundry room. They were all free patterns I found online.  The above project was found on one of my  favorite sites . I'm loving it.

Well this month was quite eventful!!! •My new little very first grandbaby girl and I had a week to get acquainted! Her mommy, daddy, and her cute little self visited at my house. Just to let everyone know, she is the most perfect baby... Ever! Gorgeous! Her parents are pretty cute too.;) •My oldest daughter, Courtney, surprised us all with a wedding. Hers. We didn't even know she had a boyfriend until a few weeks ago. Again, gorgeous. She made a beautiful bride. I hope her day was everything she wanted. Twenty-three and as independent as always. I know her biggest dream of a wedding was for it to only be about her and her husband. I think that was accomplished. :) •We have found a new church home in our new hometown. Awesome presence of God! Freedom in worship, unity in spirit, and love. Sunday morning service was like a cool drink of water to quench our thirst for more and like a burning fire to ignite our hearts to follow God's call. It's been too...

Feeling SUCH an urge to update my blog... Just wanted to let any curious readers know that all is well at the Bracknell home. (just in case you were wondering) I have another urge to say: "The truth is... I'm with a wonderful Christian man, living the dream...wonderful family, wonderful job, fabulous life!" LOL So, let's keep it REAL here. The real honest truth is this... I am married to an awesome husband who loves the Lord. He is wonderful because I am not living in a fantasy world. He is wonderful because he loves me so much he admits his shortcomings. He can do this, as can I, because our love is unconditional. I am definitely living out my dreams. Is this because everything is perfect? No. It's because everything is imperfect and I don't live under the pressure of having to pretend. My wonderful family... Yes I have a wonderful family! They are wonderful to me because they are mine. If you knew them like I do, you would have to agree! I'm ve...

I'm working on several projects. Most of them are home decorating projects. There are lots of pillow projects, quilts/duvet covers, and curtains to sew. We have been in our new home for around six months and I am starting to feel behind. Decorating a new home, for me, takes a little time. I normally have a few ideas immediately, but some ideas come with time. I have to take time to live in my new space before knowing exactly how we will use it. One new to me idea is the 80-20 rule. According to this rule, you use 20% of your home 80% of the time. I've decided to put my focus on that 20%! I don't work fast, but plan to post some before/after pictures this year of our progress. Or maybe just the "after" pictures! In the works: >Looking for some specific pieces of furniture for the living room. >Patiently waiting on a special work of art from a favorite artist! >Throw pillows for livingroom and dining room >curtains for dining room >complete re-do in K...

God and I have been having some awesome talks lately! Actually I'm learning to do a lot less talking and a lot more listening. It's amazing the things we can learn if we can just learn to be still...and listen. I've always known my calling. I have never really doubted it. God placed a huge desire in my heart to be a wife and mom. I've always known my ministry begins in my home. Do I think I have done a great job? Hardly. Some days, yes I do okay. But it is the days that I feel I only-sort-of-kind-of-maybe resemble what God called me to be that I learn the most. I learn that I wasn't meant to walk this journey alone. God wants to walk beside me. He doesn't complain that I need Him every hour! He loves it! Sometimes fear tries to grip me. It says, "Your kids see how impatient you are" or "You'll never be able to manage this household properly". I could go on and on. But I am learning to hear The Voice . The One who speaks the Truth . I don...

There isn't alot going on around here and that is just fine with me. We have enjoyed our weekend together. Randy took us to the mall on friday and we spent the evening with some new friends on saturday. Today he is working all day. The girlies are at the pool. We leave in the morning, so I will be cleaning and doing laundry. Hopefully I'll put aside a little time to cut out the new quilt I have planned. I'm still enjoying our part time rv living. It is wonderful to spend half of the week away from all the demands of life. It is so funny that we are doing some of the same things but the pressure isn't present. I still have to cook, clean, do laundry, etc. I don't even mind running to town for this or that. At home it is so annoying to run out of something and have to go to Walmart! I'm not sure what the difference is. I just know that I'm considering this time in the rv to be a complete and awesome gift from God! Next weekend we hope to visit a museum and may...

We have had a very eventful, busy 10 days. Last Sunday we headed out to Springfield, MO. to the National Homeschool Basketball Championships. Monday through Saturday were filled with basketball games, visiting with friends, and more basketball games. We ate out three meals a day and stayed in a hotel each night. Neither of those activities agree very well with me. I love to go out to eat but not 24 meals in a row! I love to stay in nice hotels, but I never sleep as well as in my own bed. Before it sounds like this is just a complaint post, I do want to say we had fun. I was just very happy to be heading home the following Sunday. The drive home was not without its own drama. First of all, we travelled about halfway home in snow. That may not mean alot to all of you who are accustomed to travelling in snow, but for this East Texas clan it was a little stressful. The next bit of excitement came in the form of a vibrating car. After arriving in Springfield earlier that week, we detected a...

Hey, I'll take it however I can get it! I was awakened to the sound of howling wind at about 4am. I wasn't totally surprised. We had heard the forecast. We were expecting a winter storm. First came the rain, then the freezing rain, and then the cracking and breaking of tree limbs. Lots of them. I knew right away I wouldn't be leaving my house today. I decided to bake. I baked a cake . The recipe is from one of my favorite blogs , the Pioneer Woman. Delicious. I quickly realized I enjoyed the warmth of the stove. I cooked beans and cornbread. Comfort food. My sweet husband built a nice fire in the fireplace and we all snuggled under our blankets for a movie. Fitting with my cooking theme for the day we decided to watch Julie and Julia. I loved it. I have never been very interested in Julia Child but I would now love to read her cookbook. Wonderful day to be stuck indoors. I probably gained 5 lbs. But it was worth it.

I had a very rare occurence tonight. I had the house all to myself for several hours. My husband took over basketball duty tonight. I normally can't stand missing my girls' games, but I needed to get caught up on a few things. Besides, we have overlapping tournaments this weekend (in two different states)! I don't think I'll have basketball withdrawals! ;) I don't guess I accomplished all I would have liked to tonight, but it was wonderful. The house is cozy and QUIET. Thank You Jesus for some much needed PEACE. I did manage to make a gift for Aubree. I found a cute tutorial HeRe. I will post pics of mine tomorrow. I hope to squeeze in a few more Silent Nights during the Christmas holidays. I still have several projects in the works.

I have finally finished my quilted wall hanging! I purposely took alot of time working on this project but I got really impatient at the end. This was the last project to finish our guest bathroom. I made some mistakes but in the end I liked it better with my mistakes. So here it is completed and hanging in my bathroom... This project is from Last-Minute Patchwork & Quilted Gifts by Joelle Hoverson. I love this book. This was my first project but I hope to work on many more.

I'm loving my husband! He gets to spend a few days at home with us and I'm so glad. He's been working alot and I've been missing him. He has enjoyed today, but I wouldn't say he spent the day relaxing. He worked all morning in the yard. It's looking nice. Then he spent the evening painting our guest bathroom. It looks amazing. He's amazing!

We are back! Missouri was great. This was my first trip to Branson. It was beautiful. We only spent one day in Branson but it was a full day. We managed to go to The Butterfly Palace, Ripley's Believe It or Not, and the Shanghai Circus. We all loved the Chinese acrobrats. They were awesome. We spent the first week of our trip in Springfield. Our daughters competed in the National Homeschool Basketball Championships. They placed 2nd in the 5A division. Kaitlyn also received an All American award. We look forward to next year and have plans to see lots shows in Branson next time. I will post pictures later of our trip. It was great to "get away" for a week, but it sure is nice to be home.