Healthy Breakfast

My kids are like any other...they would love to wake up to Lucky Charms, Coco Puffs and Fruit Loops every day of the week. However, they are known as 2 things in our house...sugar cereal and Saturday cereal. I screw up as a parent on an hourly basis but I do believe in a healthy breakfast to start their school day. It gets their bodies working right and puts their brains in learning mode. Right now they are stuck on 2 breakfasts that we alternate every couple of days. I thought it would be fun to share those recipes with you.

Breakfast Milkshake (it's a smoothie but don't tell Jagger that!)
Mix all the following ingredients into a blender. This makes enough for 4 kids or 2 adults.
1 cup plain non-fat yogurt
1 cup milk
2 TBSP wheat germ (in cereal aisle at Target or Krogers)
3 TBSP peanut butter (I use Jif natural)
2 cups frozen berries (we use Target brand frozen triple berry...kids don't like others I've tried.)
1 whole banana
Puree it all and serve. Soooo good!

The next is a bran muffin...but don't say eww yet. It's got a yummy sweet taste to it. The kids like a couple of slices of cheddar cheese with it and a fruit..usually grapes or strawberries. I'm telling you, this fills them up and it so so so good for them! Don't forget to serve it with a big glass of milk..YUM! It's a recipe that I got from Parents magazine about 10 years ago and nobody is tired of it yet!

Bran Muffins-makes 16 muffins. We put them in a big ziploc bag, freeze them, take them out when we want one and heat up for 30 seconds in microwave. It's like having fresh warm muffins every morning!
Preheat oven to 425

3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsps baking soda
1 tsp salt
mix all together

in separate bowl mix the wet ingredients:
2 cups lowfat buttermilk (I use 2 TBSPs of vinegar mixed with milk to make 2 cups..don't purchase the buttermilk...too expensive and the other is easier)
1/4 cup vegetable oil (I've used canola too and it turns out the same)
1/4 cup maple syrup
1 egg
2 egg whites
Whisk together
Then pour into dry ingredients and whisk together.
Add 3 cups of Bran Flakes (you could also use Raisin Bran but we don't like the raisins)

Put into greased or lined muffin tin and cook for 15 minutes.

If you try one or both of these recipes please let me know what you think. My family LOVES them!!

Thirst

I have been reading my Bible like crazy lately. I can't seem to get enough. I was going in order from beginning to end but after 1Kings I decided I wanted to read from different chapters. First James, then Esther (two of my favorites!) then on to Matthew, Jonah, Ezra, Mark. I read whole chapters from beginning to end. I seem to be comprehending it like I never have before. I'm not just reading over sentences so I can finish and say I read the Bible again, I'm really hearing some great stuff and understanding things. It's been awesome!

Now most of you know that we are trying to move back to Colorado. I want this more than anything else in my life. Is reading the Bible my way of bribing God to do what I want...I promise to read more if you will just give me what I want?? Maybe. Partly. But doesn't God use all trials to draw us to Him. Could maybe the whole reason we came back to TX was to find God in leaving again? I don't know. But I do know that I am closer to God than I have been in a long time and it feels so good to be sitting at His feet again.

Here is some verses from James that I have read over and over in the last week:

^5-8If you don't know what you're doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You'll get his help, and won't be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought. People who "worry their prayers" are like wind-whipped waves. Don't think you're going to get anything from the Master that way, adrift at sea, keeping all your options open.

Isn't that amazing?? I am boldly believing and boldly praying that God's hand is all over our lives right now!!

Also...today is September 1st. There are 31 chapters in the book of Proverbs. Kaylee and I are reading one chapter together every morning for the whole month...and then obviously we will do the 31st chapter on October 1st. I'm super excited that she wants to do this with me and can't wait to see how God uses this time in both of our lives. Feel free to hold us accountable and ask us how it is going!

That's all my thoughts for now. I will be sure to post more info on our journey as they get sorted it out. Thank you for all of the prayers that are heading our way...I know God is hearing them!

One Week Left

I can't believe we only have a week of summer left!! How did it fly by so quick?? Usually I'm disheveled and doing a count down by mid June...but this year I made it all the way to a week to go!! WOO HOOOOO!!!

These last 3 months have been jammed pack with fun. The kids did 2 VBS weeks. We went on vacation to Bastrop and San Antonio with Jimmy's family. Kaylee went away to my Aunt's house for a week and to Austin for a weekend. Memories were made with my Mom when she visited for a week. Blokus, Skip Bo and Scrabble were regular companions. Tons of remodeling done on the house. We visited Pirates Bay, Calypso Cove and the Wave Pool to get our swim on. We spent a night watching TV and having a sleepover in the TV room. The kids read over 60 books each and participated in the Mont Belvieu library summer program!! James participated in Bayou Bunch outings and did a week of Stomp Camp. We bowled with the kids bowl free program a bunch of times. We met neighbors and made friends.

And now we have one week left. Each of the kids have orientation at school next week and then of course it is time for haircuts and school shoe shopping. I know we still have to fit in our end of the summer Chuck E. Cheese family fun day and I'm sure there will be a couple of other fun surprises to sneak in. But really...I can't believe my babies will be off to school again in 9 days!!

I hope you've had a great summer too!!

Dave Ramsey Update

We have been following Dave Ramsey's 7 Financial Steps since September of 2009. It has changed our lives as I've said a million times before! If you have never had the chance to take the course, I highly recommend it. It doesn't matter where you are financially, I promise it will change your habits and how you think about spending and saving.

Anyways, we have been stuck on Step 2 since January of 2010. We have done a bit of Step 3 and some of Step 4 but I want out of Step 2. We are so darn close. We just have my car to pay off. We have been putting extra on it and we should not have more than 6 months left at most. Hopefully we will be able to pull it off before then. The move to TX derailed us slightly as did all the decorating we have done to the house to get it ready for summer visitors. But I went in to make a payment yesterday and saw the balance and got totally fired up again! I want this car payment gone!

And I want to be able to call Dave Ramsey on his radio show on Debt Free Friday and scream WE ARE DEBT FREEEEE!!!! Oh that felt good! That's going to feel so awesome to do it out loud and not on the computer!! I can't wait!!

A Favorite Day

My 18th birthday and my graduation ceremonies just happened to be on the same day. October 16, 1994. My Dad and my sisters drove down to Montreal to my Mom's house and we all celebrated the day together. It was the first time, since I was 6 years old, to have my whole family doing something together. We took a picture and it has been in my wallet ever since. We never got the chance to do this again since my dad died just a year and a half after this picture was taken. It is a memory I treasure!

Jagger Rides

Jagger Michael learned how to ride without training wheels today!! Yes, he is 6..we waited a little longer. Daddy took off the training wheels after lunch and five minutes later I walked out and there was Jagger just cruising up and down the street. So proud. Next up...swimming without a life jacket!

Running for my LIfe

I'm alternating biking and running right now. As disgusting as it is, I love the sweat that pours off me here in TX. Makes me feel like Superwoman with every drip that runs down my face/neck/back/boobs...whatever!

I'm still in a funk. And I can't seem to shake it. So, last night when I started to cry I just threw on my running shoes and went out for a run. It takes more concentration to run than cry so the tears dried up pretty quick. Unfortunately, running when you're upset leads you to run aimlessly and by the time I got home I had run farther than I was expecting to. Oops! Sore thighs this morning!

I'm reading a book called Run Like a Mother. First of all, this is NOT a book for beginner runners! Anyone who says that they get up for a lovely 10 mile run on a Sunday is way more committed than I'll ever be!!

Anyways, in this book it describes what you should be doing in order to be getting ready for each distance of a race. At this point you should know that I have a hope of wanting to run the Houston Half in January. Back to the book...they say in order to run a 10K I should be running 3 miles easily (really?? a mile isn't even easy for me after a year and a half of running!!), minimum requirement is running 4 days per week, with one run at 5 to 6 miles, at least 15 miles per week.

Really?? I'm being dead serious when I say how hard this is for me. I want to die just looking at that training schedule for a 10K...how the heck??!!

Well, I don't know about the Houston Half but I'm pretty sure I am going to run myself right out of this funk!!

Coming Up Roses

Well, not really roses...but, hibiscus. My very favorite flower! This is a variation of the hibiscus that I have never seen before and just had to have for outside my kitchen window so I could wake up and see it every morning.

One Step at a Time

Moving back to Baytown, TX has not been easy. In fact, it's been downright hard! I wish that I could just close my eyes and open them back up and I will be sitting in my house in Colorado and that Julie will be on the way over with her kids and Kaylee will be out playing with her friends...that life would be just the way it was 5 months ago. Sometimes I will lay on my couch and close my eyes and pretend that I'm in the old house...I put the couch right where it used to be and see if I can really make it happen. It doesn't.

Our reasons for coming back will never change. Schools are losing so much money out there and it scares me for my children's futures. We missed being close to family. And we never found a church that we knew was home.

We love that our children will go to great schools here in TX. We know that they will be pushed to their limits and will go to college and be successful in whatever they do. We are grateful for that.

We LOVE being close to Mom and Dad again. It's a beautiful thing to watch our kids interact with their grandparents and know that these are memories that they will share with their children one day. I love that I can go see my Aunt and Uncle and it's like a little vacation with the whole Terry side of the family when I do that. It's home. I am blessed.

We are back at Second Baptist and we definitely know it's a great church and it is a church that you cannot just find anywhere Unfortunately, I feel farther away from God then I have felt in a long long time. This is especially where I feel like I just have to put one foot in front of the other. I just get up for church. I sing the songs. I keep the car radio on KSBJ. I pray with my children. And I seek Him. But I feel lost. I miss the fire. I expected it to come rushing back to me when we got back to Baytown...it hasn't. I am thankful for the foundation that I have built my life on and I know that I just need to keep seeking. I know, without a doubt, that God has not forsaken me...I just can't remember how to hear him.

I miss my Julie.

I feel sorry for myself right now.

And it all sucks!

So, I have decided to go with the flow. If someone asks me to do something, I just say yes. Go to the pool with you this week? Sure, I'ld love to! A ladies night out at church? I'll go and see who I'll meet up with. Lunch with a friend? Why not! This is new to me and it has gotten me out of my box a little. It's been fun too. I'm praying that God will lead us to new family friends that we can share life, laughs and fun with.

I want to start making tiered platters. I am interested in learning photography. And refinishing furniture.

I am going to go to work when school starts this year. I have already put in one application at the school district. I don't know that the job is a perfect fit for me but I need to start somewhere. My kids are growing up and what else am I going to do while they are at school all day?

So, you see, I do have plans. I do see a future. I am not so depressed that I have no idea how to function. I'm just sad. And a little lonely. And in need of some structure and routine in my life.

Or it could be that my husband has been working a shut down for 2 months and I'm tired of being alone with the kids.

Or that it's Father's Day and I miss my Dad today.

Or that I have my period....just sayin'!

But this is a blog and these are my thoughts and this is what you get when you put it all together....

Facebook Withdrawals

Ok...this isn't all it is cracked up to be! I don't miss reading random nothingness and spending hours doing so, but I miss knowing what is going on around me. How am I supposed to know that Jane Doe is going swimming and wants to know if anyone wants to join her? Or that John Doe is having a last minute BBQ and anyone can come over and join. I'm looking for an antique hutch for my french country living room and how am I supposed to know if anyone has seen a cool one lately if I can't ask on facebook?? See, this is a problem!!

But where, oh where, is that happy middle ground??

Planting a Home

We have made a few changes to the outside of our home....

Here is the before pic....


And the after installing solar screens and planting some greenery....



Does anyone know what this is?? It was left behind by the previous owner and had 2 green leaves on it. I've been watering it for a week and it's doing really well. But, I have no idea what I'm growing!!

And it wouldn't be a country home without a lizard hanging out on the side...

There's A Hole In My Wall

The house we bought is only 15 years old. But, it was built in the style of a much older home where all of the rooms are very separate. We like that to a degree. However, we have a kick-butt kitchen on one side and a great fireplace in the living room. Since 99% of my time is spent in the kitchen I decided that I wanted it open so that we can entertain and I can cook all at the same time. Plus, the kitchen gets hot and the living room stays cold so we knew we had to do something to create better air flow. Our solution..knock out the wall!! Here is the result:

Before...

During...

And after...(don't mind the mess or the mismatch furniture....we are still in move mode!!)...

Now we have a lovely 5 inch strip of concrete between the tile and the carpet. So the new thing in house decorating!! Next up on the priority list...wood floors in the living room!

From Facebook to Blog

Well, I have stopped using Facebook. I still use it to see family pictures...but that's it!! Sooo liberating. However, now I have all these status updates in my head and all these hours of leisure that I will have to dispense of somewhere else...so, I am sure to back in the blogging world!

We have finally bought a house and we are somewhat in the "country." Not everyone would agree with that but we have well water, a septic system, snakes are found in our neighborhood and it takes me 30 minutes to get to the grocery store...this is about as country as I'm ever going to get!

Well, I'm lovin' it! It feels like we are getting back to a simpler life. We don't go out to eat...what fun is that when you have to calculate in 45 minutes travel time to and back?? Kaylee and I have stopped using Facebook. I've taken Kaylee's phone away from her. We go for family bike rides and runs. We spend more time playing games and reading than watching the TV. It feels like we are getting back to the basics of life...and I LOVE IT!!

We are doing a few things to the house to make it more our style. We have put up solar screens...HEAT RELIEF!! And we took down a wall between the living room and kitchen to open things up a little. We have a priority list of things that need to be done and I am loving having a new canvas to mold, shape and decorate! I will start posting pics within the next couple of days!

I am happy to be back to blogging and I look forward to sharing all the fun things going on with the Clinton family this way again!

Happy Friday!

Long Time

WOW!!

Even I can't believe how long it has been since I've written on this blog. Life is just flying by....

Biggest news....we're moving back to Texas!!

Reasons why??

Heat!! I hate winter! I remember loving the winters. It is not nearly as fun now that I have to go out to get groceries, drive kids to school, shovel, wait for my car to warm up....grrrrr. And I did all of that last week as the temperatures went down to -20!! This cold and snow stuff is for the birds!!

Church. We have really struggled here with finding a church. We have one that we like more than others but it doesn't even compare with the missions and message at Second Baptist Church in Baytown. We are soooo longing to get back to our church!

Family. Who moves away from family to a place where they have none? I don't understand the point. My children are losing the relationships they once had with their Aunt and their Grandparents. That breaks my heart. It isn't possible to be close to both of our families but it is possible to be close to one of them....and we need to be.

Medical. This part makes me sound like such an old lady!! I have glaucoma. It doesn't bother me very much...unless I'm in high altitude! Who knew?! I get really bad headaches here and they drive me nuts. I seem to pop tylenol like they are M&Ms. Kaylee and I also have Stickler Syndrome. With this syndrome you apparently are not allowed to use nitrous gas in high altitude. So when Kaylee had to have her tooth filled she had to go to the Children's Hospital to have it done in case of any complications. Odd...but true!

We've learned a lot here in Colorado. It's been an awesome journey and we will remember this adventure forever. I think we came here because we needed to try things on our own...without our family and friends and see if we could make it. We did make it. But we want to go home now. It will be fun to travel back here to see the awesome friends we've made but our homebase needs to be in Baytown.

We still have lots to do. Jimmy is working on a few leads for jobs in Texas. We have the house on the market (and we've had 4 showings in 12 days!!) so we are hoping that will move quickly. The timeline is to get the kids and me to TX as soon as school is out and Jimmy will either go ahead of us or behind us depending on the job situation. However, we know God has things perfectly figured out already and we are just trying to take our cues!

We hope that you will pray for us as we make this desired move back home. We want this to be done with God's blessing and His hands all over the whole situation.

Until then...the whole family will be counting down the days to get us back to the South and some good ol' mexican food!!