{Through my camera lens Thursday}

Welcome to my new blog post series {Through my camera lens Thursday} where I will be featuring photos I have taken with my personal camera.

The begonia beauties featured above are adorning my front porch in three separate hanging baskets.  I love their color as well as their intricate petal formation.  This is our first time purchasing begonias and I am very pleased and think it is a great option for our shaded porch.  Take a moment and enjoy their beauty!

Until next time...

Enjoy the moment. Cherish the memories. Give thanks. {Written by Faye 2014}

{MWW Asian Salad}

Asian Chopped Salad

 

Ah, summer meals! Cooking in the summer appeals to me so much more than cooking in the fall and winter!  I love to utilize the grill for as many dinner meals as possible in the summer time.  I also find myself making lots of salad variations for side dishes or even the main entree.  This week while grocery shopping at Meijer, I was in the produce department searching for the mixed greens we prefer when I stumbled upon a package to create your own Asian Chopped Salad.  It immediately caught my attention as I not only really enjoy eating Asian salad but I was looking for something new to add to our meal menu.

So, low and behold, I introduce you to the Taylor Farms: Asian Chopped Salad!

The packaging states the salad recipe includes:  savoy cabbage, green cabbage, carrots, celery, green onions, cilantro, wonton noodles, sliced toasted almonds, and sesame ginger dressing.

Assembling the salad took all of 5 minutes.  Inside the main packaging, there is a sealed bag that includes the wonton noodles and sliced toasted almonds and a separate pouch of the sesame ginger dressings.  I placed all the ingredients inside a large bowl that had a corresponding lid, placed the lid on and shook the bowl to mix the ingredients.  I made the salad approximately 30minutes before we were going to sit down and eat so I placed it in the refrigerator to chill while I cooked the rest of our meal.

When our brats were done on the grill, I simply had to place a serving on each plate...

...and enjoy my summer dinner meal of bratwurst, Asian chopped salad and a fresh blueberries, raspberries and blackberries.  It was delicious!!


On a side note for my own future reference, I would not mix the wonton noodles into the bowl with all of the other ingredients.  If you have left overs and save them to enjoy later, the wonton noodles will no longer be crunchy. (boo!)  In the future I will add wonton noodles to each serving when ready to consume.

So, I have to ask, do you like Asian chopped salad?  Will you be looking for this product the next time you're in the produce department?

Until next time...

Enjoy the moment. Cherish the memories. Give thanks. {Written by Faye 2014}

{Tasty treat Tuesday!}

 

My little love seriously is crazy for fruit!  From bananas to kiwi, blackberries to Mandarin oranges, he loves them all and watermelon is no different!  While C was enjoying a fresh and juicy piece of watermelon, I was investigating the fridge for ingredients for dinner when I came across a container of strawberries I had yet to clean for us to eat. They pretty much all had soft spots on them...bummer! I remembered seeing a recipe earlier in the day posted online by Super Healthy Kids for making a smoothie with watermelon and strawberries.  I was unable to find their post so I improvised.  Below is a quick documentation of our tasty treat!

 Place watermelon chunks, strawberries (without the stem) and a handful of ice in a blender.

 Blend the ingredients until the watermelon and strawberries are liquified and there are minimal ice chunks.

When texture is to your liking...

 ...enjoy your cold tasty treat with your favorite friends.

C was sure that Elephant would love this new healthy treat!

I would definitely consider our creation more of a fruit juice than a smoothie.  It was a very refreshing drink and I loved knowing that it was derived solely from fresh cut watermelon and strawberries. Yum!  We will definitely be enjoying more fruit treats in the near future!

Until next time...

Enjoy the moment. Cherish the memories. Give thanks. {Written by Faye 2014}

{Monday Motivation} Jeremiah 32:27

The Bible says in this world we will have trouble.  I know I can easily get defeated by situations that Satan uses to discourage me and get me down rather than to choose joy and live with triumph that God has overcome the world.  Reality is, everyone is fighting a battle.  I have family battling to overcome medical conditions, friends battling cancer, friends overwhelmed with parenting, friends fighting for their marriages, family stricken with loss and the list goes on.  But I choose to cling to HOPE and God's truth that NOTHING is too hard for Him!  I know that God is my strength and without Him, it would be hard to get through my own personal trials.  Today I celebrate that with God I can do all things.  Do you believe that nothing is too hard for God?

Until next time...

Enjoy the moment. Cherish the memories. Give thanks. {Written by Faye 2014}

{Friday Feature} Thank you card

My friend, Meagan, has a little cookie business and was gracious enough to make and deliver these tasty treats to enjoy with our family over the 4th of July weekend.  Let's be honest, they were so good they only lasted hours, not days in our house!

I wanted to send a quick little thank you note to Meagan to express my appreciation for her kindness.  My card layout inspiration came from the blog Mojo Monday which provides a layout challenge each week.

This week's layout sketch #354:

 

Using the sketch provided, I created the following 4th of July themed thank you card:

 

I love the final results of this card! The simple shapes were quick to assemble and the baker's twine gives the card added dimension.  I added the word "thanks" using white letter stickers and cut the red and blue stars from scrap cardstock. Quick and cute are always a win for me!

Thanks again to Meagan for using your time and talent to bless us with delicious cookies! 

Until next time...

Enjoy the moment. Cherish the memories. Give thanks. {Written by Faye 2014}

{a window into my Wednesday}

Hey there blog reading friends!

So, in effort to document projects, seasons, photographs, and the day-to-day struggles, tasks and joys, I have created a new blog series entitled:  a window into my Wednesday just to keep it real and share life's journey with you!

A quick peak into what my day entailed:

My little love was screaming for me at 6am (second time this week).  This is very rare so I can't complain.  I will however chuckle at his interaction with me upon removing him from his crib and bringing him into my bed.  He insisted, "momma no more shut eye, open your eyes and turn on the light! Sleep time all done!"  Thanks for the direction, son.
My heart melted tonight when I asked him why does he wake up and start calling for me?  He responded, "me like you".  {insert momma swoon here}

Due to my darling little love waking earlier than normal, I was not showered.  Yes, I am one of those moms who try to shower and be completely ready for my day before my child is awake and needing me.  I rush through the shower while little love is being entertained with screen time and within minutes from getting out of shower my phone rings to tell me that the service man is "a few minutes away" to come fulfill our maintenance check on our AC unit.
awesome.  Yes I greeted him with crazy hair, no makeup and holding my child who was wearing a sleep shirt and no pants.  once again, we are awesome like that!

The true winning moment of today (all sarcasm aside) is the opportunity to document that EVERY SINGLE PIECE OF CLOTHING EXCEPT THE CLOTHES ON OUR BACK IS CLEANED, FOLDED AND PUT AWAY!  Since I can't remember this ever happening before, we celebrate!!

Hope your Wednesday included a sweet moment with your child, a task completed deserving celebration, and something exciting to anticipate in the days to come!

Until next time...

Enjoy the moment. Cherish the memories. Give thanks. {Written by Faye 2014}

{Monday Motivation} Philippians 4:13

Yes, I CAN do ALL things through Christ who strengthens me!  

Recent conversations with our little love have often included him stating "I am able to ___" or "I am not able to ____".  We are doing our best to instill truth in him and lean on scripture in all areas of our life.  Philippians 4:13 in the Bible has been the statement of truth we have referenced in teaching C that he most definitely is ABLE to do ALL THINGS through Christ.
Interesting enough that sometimes the lessons we are teaching our children are also lessons we might need to revisit ourselves!