She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness. Proverbs 31:27 NKJ

What an exciting time January is! New goals, new dreams, time to discard what is not working and improve on what is working. Today, I would like to share a book recommendation and a recipe.

I have been reading The 15 Minure Organizer by Emilie Barnes.
This is an excellent resource guide for our homes. She begins with extablishing goals and daily priorities, then moves right into cleaning, children, finances, and more. What I really like about the book is the way it is organized. The book has short chapters with just the right amount of information for the task at hand. There is no fumbling through the whole book looking for that right cleaning advice or whatever you are looking for at the moment. In the book, she also gives some low cost cleaning methods and with tightening budgets, this is a life-saver. Check it out, I think you will enjoy it!

I would also like to share a recipe from my Gooseberry Patch calendar. First of all, let me say that I love this calendar. Wonderful quotes, uplifting messages, and great recipes! Here is the recipe on the calendar for January
Old-Fashioned Chicken Pot Pie

2 pie crusts
2 to 3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cooked and chopped
1/2 onion, chopped
10 3/4 oz. can cream of chicken soup
15-oz. can mixed vegetables, drained
1/2 c. sour cream
salt and pepper to taste
Line a 9" pie plate with one crust; set aside second crust. Combine remaining ingredients in a large bowl; mix well and pour into pie plate. Top with remaining crust. Crimp crust to seal; cut several slits in top crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes, until bubbly and crust is golden. Makes 6 servings.

My family loved this recipe. It was quick and easy, perfect for a busy night. Serve with a salad and fruit and you'll have a great meal in minutes.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!
Kim

Last night we had a wonderful PEP (Personal Edification Program) group. I really like this program. We have gotten to know people at church in a close setting. We meet the 3rd Sunday night of the month for a devotional and food. The groups are intended to be small so everyone can get to know each other better. We break during the summer and start up in September with new groups. My husband is the leader for our group and last night was our turn to meet at the church. We had a fabulous meeting! The fellowship was uplifting and the material was thought provoking. Next month we will meet at our home, so I hope to do a Valentine's theme with the food.

My oldest son's dual enrollment classes do not meet today because of the holiday, but we will be having school nonetheless. We have a graduation meeting to go to tonight that is across town, so I am not looking forward to that. The graduation will be in May and I know it will be special. It is just those late meetings that don't thrill me so much. Oh well, at least they only meet twice before graduation!

On tap with the menu this week is :
Monday
Baked Potato Bar, Salad, Fruit
Tuesday
Lasagna, Salad, Rolls, Pudding
Wednesday
Crock Pot Chili, Crackers, Salad, Jello
Thursday
Tacos, Chips, Salsa, Brownies
Friday
Pizza, Breadsticks, Salad,Cookies
Saturday
Chicken Fingers, Baked Beans, Corn, Apple Crisp

Sunday's Thoughts

This is the day the Lord has made; We will rejoice and be glad in it.
Psalm 118:24 NKJ

"Write it on your heart, that every day is the best day of the year."
Ralph Waldo Emerson

Wow! This month is off with a bang. Our school has started back nicely. Activities have all begun again. I love this time of year, with new goals and beginnings. One of my goals is to journal our family's daily adventures in this blog. Things tried, lessons learned, memories made. I would like to look back and have a wonderful journal to pass on to my children. So, on that note, I hope to learn more about how this blog thing works, with photos and all the side-kicks.

Also, I learn so much from other blogs, that I hope to pass on some inspiration also. In that light, Wednesdays will be All About the Home Day on here. I will post recipes, crafts, decorations, and book recommendations. I am excited about it all!

I wish everyone a wonderful weekend!

Kim

Happy New Year!!

Happy New Year to everyone! We just returned from Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. My in-laws and our family spent some wonderful days together on vacation. The weather was awesome! We were able to spend some time on the beach just relaxing and hanging out together. While we were there, we visited the Ripley's Aquarium. The aquarium had trees decorated for every state. They were beautiful. We also went to the Carolina Opry. If you ever get the chance to go see their show, it is well worth it. It is a long show, but the singing and dancing are really entertaining. We tried out some new eating places, like the Chicago Grill and Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville. On our way home, we stopped at the Isle of Palms and Charleston. We would like to go back to both of those places and spend some more time checking everything out. I will be posting some pictures of the aquarium visit later. We really enjoyed this vacation with family. The boys spent some good time with their cousins and we got to spend some good time with Mike's siblings. Plans are in the works for a weekend trip to Atlanta this month. Trips like this are very good for the boys to get to cement their relationship with extended family. In this day and time, strong family relationships are important. Mike and I haven't always done our best to make this happen, but hopefully we will be changing that this year. The days are too short to not make this happen. Anyway, we really enjoyed ourselves and are looking forward to this new year!

Kim

I have always wanted to do picture Christmas cards. Well, it never seemed to work out for us, but this year we did it! Okay, I am a little late in getting them out, but I did get the picture cards! I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE Christmas! I hope to finish up all presents and wrapping today. Tonight will be our movie night. We are supposed to get the Lost Season 4 disc in today, so we will watch that. We usually do homemade pizzas on Friday night, but we did that last night. Tonight will be chili, salad, chips and salsa, and brownies. Have a wonderful Friday!

Kim