Photo 91: 2 hours, 3 recipes, 12 meals.

...So maybe I am cheating a bit with the 12 meals. one of the recipes is breakfast for will and I, which should last the whole rest of the week.
With a little bit of chopping this morning I came out with this:

I have done some freezer meals before. They were okay. I didn't love them, but they weren't terrible either. But at this point in life, to only have to pour some stuff into a crock pot in the morning and have dinner in the evening. I am willing to give it another try!
The freezer meals I found here. I am hoping we like these more...they fall under more the type of flavors that we love so I hope so! :)
Then I made an easy egg "pie" kind of thing that a coworker had posted here (her's is the first idea in the comments! :) )

I am so grateful to have smart people out there who make my life simpler when the days are busier.

Isn't Labor day so nice. It was nice to have a day off after 7 days in school and since school stuff is settling down I was able to focus on getting my house more in order...well, maybe it is still a bit of a mess, but it is a mess with curtains hung and pictures on the wall! That makes me happy!

Photo 90: Sunday Dinner

In our house we don't do a big Sunday Lunch. Alex is going down for a nap right away, and we are usually hungry after church so we just grab something quick. Anyways, I have been enjoying life getting back to normal and feeling like there is time to cook again.

But today the conversation went like this.
Katie: What should we eat for dinner?
Will: uh.... Chicken.
Katie: Just chicken, or with something?
Will: uh....uh... (some help he is in meal planning! :) )
Katie: With tomato sauce, japanese sauce, rice or noodles?
Will: tomato sauce.

So with that huge amount of help I ventured into the chicken. This was a meal that really didn't come together  until I started cooking it, but we enjoyed it very much!

You need:
2 chicken breasts, cut into about 3 pieces each.
olive oil
pepper
diced tomatoes
parmesan
garlic
fresh basil
more olive oil
noodles of your choice

• pepper chicken and cook in pan with olive oil.
• start boiling noodles
• turn chicken and sprinkle crushed red pepper, parmesan, and pepper on chicken
• once mostly cooked through add 1/2 can of diced tomatoes, basil, and garlic. cover
• once noodles are boiled and drained, pour back in pot and add a little more olive oil, remaining diced tomatoes and basil.
• Put noodles on a plate and top with chicken and juices.
• enjoy!

Photo 89: A Box

Sept 1st.

Photo 88: Bubble Bath

August 31.
I bought Alex bubble bath for the first time. We had just been adding some of his shampoo to the water previously, but these bubbles were so much more fun! It was hard to get Alex out of the bath!

Photo 87: Stroller View

August 30
One last cheer for the falcons before we went home

Photos 79-86: Catching Up

Blogging went to the shelf when it came time to start school, help get my sister to college, and football season started back up! Now it is time to get back into normal routines so here is a quick peek at the last 10 days of life! Unfortunately, due to the fast pace of life, I managed to spend several whole days not taking one single picture...Will too! Sadness. Definitely won't be reaching 365 with this challenge!

August 21: Photo 79
College Time!

August 22: Photo 80
Life's a Blur! (When you have a child who won't stop moving...that is what life seems like most of the time!)

August 23: Photo 81
Fun in the Cart!

August 24: Photo 82
Drive In Time!


































August 25: Photo 83
Doing work just like Mommy! :)

August 26: Photo 84
These two look so much alike...especially when Alex is being mischievous! :)

August 27: Photo 85
Swinging the days away!

August 29: Photo 86
Best Reading Log Homework EVER!

Ephesians 6:2 “Honor your father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise. I wonder what was going on if they read that verse over and over for 15 minutes! :)

Photo 78: Dear Uncle Ray

Dear Uncle Ray, 

This week you reminded me how fleeting life is, that what we think is the norm can change in a minute. Life can end abruptly, and for everyone else it is never really the same. 

It was about 10 years ago, I think, that your little house was added to Paradise Mountain. You 

forever changed the place. Now new mks will come and not know you, only the stories of who you were and what you did for us.Your house was a restful place, full of pop and candy that you gave out freely to people who you knew appreciated it. You didn't like it when people took advantage of your generosity. I don't blame you. Your house was full of all the adventures you had in your life. Your dart gun and other things hanging on the wall from Irian Jaya, your collection of mugs showed that you had traveled all over the US. The train set. Your paintings.

This week you reminded me that regardless of our limitations, trials, or circumstances, we can still serve and love others. It was a reminder I needed. You suffered through so much, yet that didn't keep you from giving to others and loving on us at paradise. Even with your limited vocabulary, you spoke volumes. You listened. So many people might have given up, but you pushed on. You have no idea how much I needed to be reminded of that. Thanks for setting such an example for us.

This week I imagined you running into heaven. Reaching out both arms to hug your wife, hug Jesus. I imagined the words of praise that came flowing from your lips. All the things you have longed to say for so long, but not been able too. What freedom that must have been. I am glad you are free.

But we will miss you. I will miss seeing you walk from one house to the other when we are visiting. Knowing that you always sat in the same area at church, or on the bench at the basketball games. I will miss wondering where Will is, but then realizing he is probably at your house.

Thank you for what you taught us, who you were to us. It was so good to hear other people remember you today and learn more of the full life you lived. Enjoy Heaven.