Mediterranean Rice with Swai

I made a yummy new dish last night and it was a hit with the fam so I thought I'd share the recipe. Of course I wasn't thinking and didn't take any pictures while cooking. Next time I'll have to take pics and add them. Hopefully you can follow the recipe as it was more of a dump and taste than this but the amounts are roughly accurate.

2 cups dry brown rice (cooked makes approximately 4 servings)
2 - 4 fish fillets depending on size (I used Swai which is a mild fish much like Tilapia)
1 large bag of fresh or frozen spinach
1/2 jar sun dried tomatos
Vinegar/oil dressing
Garlic Powder
Onion Powder
Italian Seasoning
Sea Salt
Olive Oil or cooking spray

1. Prepare rice.
2. Preheat oven to 350-400 depending on how hot your oven cooks. (I cooked mine on 400 in my toaster oven for about 30 mins)
3. Place thawed fish fillets on baking sheet. Coat in cooking spray or olive oil sprinkle garlic powder and onion powder. Flip to other side and repeat.
4. Cook fish for 30 mins or until white and flaky.
5. Cook spinach in wok or pan until tender/thawed. 
6. Cut sun dried tomatos into small pieces and add to spinach.
7. Add rice to spinach and tomatos.
8. Mix in 3-4 tablespoons vinegar and oil dressing. 1-2 tablespoons garlic powder, 1-2 tablespoons onion powder, 1-2 tablespoons Italian seasoning, and sea salt to taste.
9. Cook until flavors are combined.
10. Place rice on plate and top with fillet.

We had corn as our veggie side!

Enjoy!
Daspri

Quiver Full-Arrow Baby Shower

I was so blessed to be apart of planning this baby shower for such a sweet and dear friend of mine. My friends and I have spent the last month brainstorming, planning, and creating fun things for this celebration. We got to see it all come together over the weekend and celebrate a sweet baby boy and this growing family.

We started out with a different theme entirely! I loved the idea, but for some reason, I wasn't completely sold on it for this friend and this shower. But, it was really cute and everyone seemed on board so we were going forward with it.......until, I saw this! As soon as I read this blog post, I immediately fell in love and knew that this was the direction we needed to head in. The super cool thing about it is that this was a verse that this family had been meditating on and praying over for some time as they waited for the Lord to bless them with another baby.
It was meant to be. :)

So, without further ado, here is our take on the arrow baby shower theme!

 I designed these and we printed them ourselves on natural card stock. Easy, affordable and fun!

The food table boasted fruit and vegetable skewers with arrow heads, mini hot ham and cheese sandwiches, and individual servings of trail mix in cute little brown paper sacks complete with an arrow stamped on the front.

When planning the decor for a shower, I always try and make things that can be sent home with the mom-to-be and can possibly be used in the nursery.

The two frames on either side of the chalkboard are prints that I designed on the computer, had printed at Staples, and framed them. I painted and distressed two of the frames to go with our color scheme.

My friend, Sarah, made the adorable fabric scrap banner hanging on the front of the table.

Can you see the craft paper arrow heads on the skewers? Eek! I love the little touches!
Another friend of mine, Kerri, made the stunning yarn wrapped "E". I am loving these yarn wrapped letters!

More arrow skewers! And yes, that is a slice of wood that they are lying on. Do you see the cute little arrow clips that are holding the food cards? Those were scored at the Target dollar bins (thanks for the tip Amy!) Turned upside down, they made perfect holders for these cards.

Some of the skewers have little colored flags made from washi tape on the ends...just to mix it up a little and add some color.
And there are the cute little bags of trail mix. These were actually a big hit!

 "Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them." Psalm 127:4-5

This is the verse that the whole shower is based upon. So, a quiver full of arrows was out centerpiece! The quiver is simply a large clear glass vase wrapped in twine. And the arrows, a few of us painted, a few of us cut pieces of felt and a few of us applied the glue that brought them together (and also burned a few fingers in the process)!

hmmmm.....can you guess who was using the glue gun? Hint: it was someone who writes on this blog and it wasn't Daspri.

The arrows are arranged within the quiver using blocks of floral foam.

 This table featured the cake, Strawberry lemonade, and  gifts. Not to mention, the super fun arrow mobile hanging overhead.

Rather than having fresh flowers for this shower, we chose fresh herbs because we knew our friend and mom-to-be would love them!

 And the mobile....I think this is possibly my favorite piece of decor from this shower. Our little team worked on this together; making the arrows and then fitting them with these embroidery hoops. I really love how it turned out.

Let's take a closer look at this cake. My friend, Rachel, is always the "go-to" for the shower cakes. She does such a great job, with ALL of it. The cakes always look great AND taste great!

This was a lemonade cake and it was SO yummy! I even took a bite to taste it. I had to see what all of the fuss was about and....I LOVE lemon!

We told her we wanted an arrow-chevron type pattern around the bottom border and we gave her colors and she worked the magic.

We had a little coffee station. We don't throw baby showers without coffee around here.

The little arrows on the wall are made from wool felt. So easy and fun to make.

 Another print for our mom-to-be to take home.

Mason jars and paper straws for the Strawberry Lemonade.

This little box sat on the gift table with little pieces of natural card stock and a note beside it that read "prayers and blessings for Elias".

Each guest wrote a little something and placed the paper in the box.

A little sketch for the door.

And last, but certainly not least, are these sweet little arrows that my friend Sarah made. Aren't they adorable?!

I believe our friend and mom-to-be already has ideas of a blanket with these.

It was such an honor to shower sweet Kim and celebrate their growing family and more specifically, number 3,a sweet baby boy!

We had an incredible team of ladies that helped make this shower possible and it was so fun working with them all! I love seeing how God uses each one of us.

Come back for tomorrow's post to see how some of these shower decorations were made!

Blessings,

-Jenny

Mother's Day - Toddler DiY Gift for Granny

It's not too late to do a little mother's day project from your kiddos to their grandmas. Keylee's Meme and Nana will be getting these on Sunday...shhh, don't tell them yet.  

1. Grab some canvases and stickers. Spell out your word or name.

2. Give the little one some paints and brushes (protect as necessary) and let them paint away (you may have to help them with the first few strokes over the stickers to keep them in place.

3. Let them dry a few minutes but not completely and peal off the stickers. We had a little bleed through. So, I grabbed a little white paint and a brush and filled in a bit.

4. Let everything dry well. Flip them over and staple some ribbon, rope, etc to the back to hold them together and hang them. 

Ta-DA! Sweet and fun hand made art for Mother's Day!

Happy Mother's Day to all you mommas out there,
Daspri

 

Sunny Chair Makeover

Spring is here. The sun is shining more days than not which means my kids are giggling in the back yard and squealing with delight as they find mounds of roly-polies.

But it also means.....it's time to get the spray paint out!

Spring brings new life to everything around us outside...

 

...so why not bring some new life inside too! Bring on the sunshine and I'll bring on the spray paint!

 Years ago, my mother in law scored these super cool vintage chairs for us at a yard sale. I loved them right away and restored them with some black spray paint on the seat and some chrome paint on the legs.
These chairs have gotten A LOT of use and have been moved around to various rooms in our house over the years.
This one has been on our front porch for a while now. I have wanted to move it in and when we changed up the porch recently, I decided to give this ole beauty a much needed makeover and a new home.

My husband painted this large sun piece when were dating. It has been hanging in our bedroom and I have wanted to incorporate more orange in our space in other places too.
The chair was the perfect opportunity!

 I really love how it turned out! It instantly makes me happy when I walk in our bedroom and see that sunny orange chair.

A friend of mine gave me this wooden magazine rack a while back. It has been sitting in my closet begging for a makeover ever since.
I knew I wanted it to have more of a distressed look but honestly, I was really excited about adding my little reading corner to our bedroom and I didn't want to wait!

So, I grabbed my white paint and a damp washcloth and went to town!
I used this same technique on a wall cabinet in our bathroom a few years back. It is easy, fast and I personally, love the look it gives.

New life for this old piece and a new home for all of my new and inspiring books!

What Spring makeovers do you have planned?
-Jenny

More To Learning Than Reading, Writing, & Arithmetic

So, I promise that we will get back to sharing fun DiY projects with you soon, but this season of life has been more about rest and learning (and stretching).  ;) While we are always learning, I feel like this season of needing more rest is finally nearing an end with a much busier, exciting season ahead.

I am very blessed to be able to stay home with my four children. We homeschool. Right now, I have two in school; in the fall, I will have three in school.
To say that it has it's challenges is on some days, a big understatement. However, even on the most challenging of days, there is still no where else I would rather be than here, in our home, teaching my children and learning with them.

One of the hardest parts of our school is honestly me. That fact is a really hard one to swallow and even harder to admit but it's true.

Some days, my patience is far less than it should be; some days, it is hard to find. Some days, I simply don't feel like doing it and am tired. And most days, I feel inadequate; questioning whether they are getting it or not; questioning whether I have done enough. I want learning to be fun for them. I often don't feel like it is fun for them.

I want them to be given every tool and opportunity to learn and be successful.

As much as I dislike this and I mean, REALLY dislike this, I sometimes find myself comparing what my kids know to others kids their age. That becomes one more thing to make me feel more pressure and a bit a doubt. It also makes me put more unnecessary pressure on them, whether I realize I am doing it or not.

Here's the deal. I think most every mother, whether stay at home mother, working mother, or homeschooling mother, questions her abilities often, if not daily sometimes.
As for me, I am tired of these questions.

I was talking with a sweet friend of mine on the phone recently. She also teaches her children at home. We were sharing various things about this and she said to me, "Ya know Jen, there is so much more to learning than reading, writing, and arithmetic."
I know this, but man oh man, did I need to be reminded!
And I thought, "YES! Yes, there is. You are so right!"

This simple statement reminded me of the many reasons why our hearts were for homeschooling in the first place.

We want our children to learn so much more than simply reading, writing, and arithmetic. These are wonderful things and they are so blessed to have the opportunity to learn these things.
However, our hearts are for them to learn so much more; to learn about the Lord Jesus Christ, to learn His word giving them a firm foundation in this life, to learn what it means and looks like to love people, to learn what it means to be apart of a family, to learn how to care for a family, how to care for a house.....all of the practical things that they need to know to live in this world.

I want my little girl to learn what it means to be a godly wife and a mother and how to practically carry out these things in caring for her husband and children one day. I want her to learn how to be a lady and not just a lady, but a lady after God's very heart.

I want my boys to have time to explore nature as little boys should. I want them to learn what it means to be a godly husband and father and how to do so in practically ways that glorify the Lord and provide for their families.

I want my children to be free to learn and not be subject to any labels that someone else may give them.
Each one of my children are very different from one another. They like different things. And they definitely learn in different ways. I get to be here and learn the best way to teach them individually!

I want them to be free to be children throughout their childhood and not pressured into growing up too fast.
They are only little for so long and it is such a short time that goes by all too fast. I want them to be given the gift of being a child.

These are just a few of our reasons for our family.

The reading, writing, and arithmetic will come. It will click with each child when that particular child is ready. One day, they will just get it. Until then, what's the hurry?

Why waste another second of life worrying about when they will get it or the "what if's"? Why not just teach them what they need to know, enjoy that precious time that you get to literally watch them learn and grow, and trust that God will do the rest?

Ah......it feels good to lay the "what-if's" down and trust.

It's almost as if that is the way it is supposed to be! ;)

Enjoy right now, today....there will never be another day just like this one.
-Jenny

Growing Pains-They Hurt So Good!

How's that for a title? Hang with me for few minutes.

Let's talk about life a little.
Being a parent is super challenging, and super emotional, and super exhausting at times. But it is also super AWESOME, super rewarding, and super humbling.

It is the hardest job I have ever been given the privilege of doing. To be honest, I never thought it would be this hard before I had children. I had a bit of an unrealistic picture of how things would be. But if reality matched what I had envisioned then I would be missing out on all sorts of lessons, growth, and blessings.

Being stretched is hard and when you need the stretching, it hurts. But just like when I sit on the floor and stretch my tired legs out in front of me, touching my fingers to my toes; the first thing I feel is a bit of pain but very soon, the more I stretch, that pain turns into relief. And after stretching my body this way daily for a while, the pain begins to fade and go away until I introduce new stretches. The result is a healthier and stronger body.

Growth does not happen without pain. Ask my oldest son whose legs hurt from time to time from what we all know and call "growing pains." But guess what? When he has these pains, we stretch his legs to relieve the pain.

Our heart and our spirit are stretched in the same way. Without this stretching, we do not grow. Without the presence of growth, there is no life.
The result of this growth: strength; deeper roots of faith and trust in the One who is stretching us; a heart and spirit that is strong enough to stand when life is shaky.

How are we stretched in this way? How can we grow?

Let me ask this question: Is it important to know the right ways to stretch your physical body? Do we need that knowledge first before gear up and begin stretching? Without the right knowledge, can we actually cause our bodies harm? So we need to ask someone who has knowledge of the physical body and stretching? We need to find a good source for this information.
YES!

In the same way, before our hearts and spirits are stretched, resulting in growth and life, we must know the source in which to learn and gain the right knowledge from. The source of ALL life. The One who knows ALL and created ALL.
See where I am going with this?

Without the stretching, we are left stiff, hard, and in pain.
With the stretching, we will experience some pain but the pain is temporary and is followed by relief, growth, and life. We are not left in that pain.

I have noticed that I have been in a season of being stretched. It hurts because often when I am stretched, it is through trials and through seeing the ugliness of my sin. But rather than this season being temporary, it has seemingly been quite lengthy. I have wondered why at times. I have asked why at times.

And yesterday, I got my answer. I realized that I have not been going to the source as often I as need. I have been running through life, regardless of the growing pains, because life keeps going so I must keep going...right?

Life does keep going, but if I keep running through it when my body and my spirit are screaming "STOP" then it will ultimately result in pain. And if I don't go to the One who can ease my pain, well then, my pain might last a bit longer.

We often think that we are too busy to stop and sit at His feet. But truthfully, if we are too busy for that, then we are in fact, too busy.
As I said earlier, where this is growth, there is life. I want life. And I want it abundantly. This is what God has offered for those who repent, believe, and follow Him. Abundant life.

"The thief comes only to steal, kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly." John 10:10

You see, if we don't stop to sit at His feet, to nourish and replenish our souls, it is much like a runner that though he is tired, thirsty and hungry, he just keeps running. His lips are parched and his body aches from hunger and exhaustion, but he does not stop. How long do you think he will make it?
Not long.

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me shall not hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."  John 6:35

My heart has been weary which has resulted in my body being tired. I have tried to carry the weight of so much and so many under the umbrella of compassion and love. While we are to bear one anothers burdens, we are not meant to carry the weight of them. We are to lay them at the feet of the One who cares for His children, the One who has already taken the weight of these burdens and sins upon Himself, the One who rose victoriously.

"Cast your burden on the Lord and He will sustain you; he will never permit the righteous to be moved." Psalm 55:22

I have tried to carry the weight of breaking hearts around me.  I have tried to play "peace-maker" all the while knowing deep down that I, in and of myself, can bring no one peace. I have worried about sick family members, lost family members, hurting friends, and all of the incredible darkness in the world that is causing hurt pain around the world. I have worried that I will fail my children as a mother and a teacher; that my sins and short comings will cause them pain and trials; that my failure to be the best teacher will harm them academically. I have had fear in my heart over things that I simply cannot control and really and truly, things that I do not even really want control over. I find myself stressing over things like the laundry, the house, what to cook for dinner, how to help this person or the next....and so on and so on and....

And I do this without really even realizing that I am doing it. It seems like such a long list to be able to do it and not know it, but I keep running alongside life.
I keep trying to be the wife God has called me to be; to encourage my husband and care for him. I keep trying to be the mother God has called me to be; caring for my four precious children, making sure everyone is fed, has clean clothes to wear, is learning what they need to learn, and then stressing over whether each one of them has had enough quality time with me...do they really know how much they are loved?  I keep running. I keep trying to be the friend that God has called me to be. I keep trying to find ways to love the many who feel unloved.

Just typing this list is exhausting.

But it's true. And do you see the phrase that is repeated throughout that last paragraph?
It is "keep trying."
Oh my....I should know this by now! I should know that every time I try to make things happen on my own, in my own strength, and even with lots of love and good intention....it is going to fail at some point and everything will eventually fall apart.

"I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing..." John 15:4

I believe so many of us do this very thing, especially women. We do it out of heart that wants to do right and succeed but our efforts are actually sinful.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."  Philippians 4:6

"And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? If then you are not able to do as small a thing as that, why are you anxious about the rest?" Luke 12:25-26

 "Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad." Proverbs 12:25

I am so thankful for the good Word that I took in yesterday. I am thankful for the Lord's grace and mercy that He continues to shower upon me when I don't deserve it.

I am thankful that He came to give life and life abundantly.

I am thankful that He does not expect me to carry the weight of the world, or even of my little life and family.

I am thankful that Jesus carried it for me on the cross.

I am thankful that the Lord has invited me to lay these things at His feet and trust Him.

I am thankful that...
"...in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore." Psalm 16:11

and I am thankful for a precious friend that God gave me to share this last verse with me just yesterday, which also makes me thankful for the Lord's perfect timing. :)

So, today, I am still feeling some of the stretching but God has allowed me to see some growth too. It's the good kind of pain.
Blessings,
-Jenny

Clothes on the Floor - Confession

This morning I woke up to a text from a friend that I was going to get to spend some time with (one who has just recently had a new baby to round her family off at 6). We hadn't discussed the details the day before but she said she was coming my way because she wanted to get out of the house. So at 8:10 (Key was sleeping in and this momma didn't mind a few extra zzzs) she says she'd like to do breakfast...at 9:30! Ok, I'll jump in the shower and see you there. I did just that. Jumped in the shower got ready, got Keylee ready, and flew out the door. She had decided to leave all the kiddos at home with her hubby and take a few minutes to relax and have breakfast with me. We had a great time talking and laughing and doing things girls do. It wasn't a ton of time, a little over an hour we got to spend together but so full and a perfect start to this lovely day.

We parted ways and Key and I ran off to run a few errands that we needed to tend to. Once we got home and I got little bit settled down for a nap I made a potty stop. Why in the world am I telling you this? Because, as I looked around my bathroom I saw an unfamiliar site, some of my clothes in a pile on the floor. WHAT? Ok, so clothes on the floor happens at our house, but my husband and I are pretty tidy folks, so we do our best to scoop them up into the laundry basket as we exit the bathroom. But, this little pile of clothes meant a little more to me than one might think. To me it means growth. I know it sounds crazy but stick with me...

I maintain a pretty tidy house. Maybe not spotless or dust free but I try to keep junk put up and stuff in its rightful place. This, at times, has been something of an issue for me. I've never been able to just swing my door open to unexpected visitors very easily. If someone happens by and the house is a mess I tend to feel uncomfortable. As though a few pieces of clothing in the floor or an unmade bed might seal my fate as the worst housekeeper ever or give that person a bit too much insight into the possibility that I'm not always perfectly organized. Ironically, I've always wanted a home that people felt comfortable in, one that someone could just swing by unannounced and grab their own cup of sweet tea from the fridge.

Today, I feel like I am one step closer to opening myself up. That a few unorganized toys, clothes, or other misc around the house is just life and maybe we had too much fun today to clean up. That the next time someone stops in unannounced I might just smile, let them in, ignore the dirty dishes or the sticky floor; sit and chat and enjoy their visit. No, I don't intend to leave my dirty clothes lying in the floor as a tool toward growth, but I do intend to relinquish the thought that that my tidy little world is worth being closed off.

So, if you are around and would like to stop in, please do. Maybe you can help me grow a little more.

Daspri