Brick Oven Pizza Saved My Marriage.

August and September are the months I'm usually feeling burned out and "done"....
...the word NO sounds beautiful right now!

My dear friend {who happens to be my next door neighbor} wrote this.
Good timing for me to read...thought I'd share it with you too!



Brick oven pizza saved my marriage....
....well, kinda.  You see, after not setting up the proper boundaries in my life, a few “time suckers” snuck in!  It happens I suppose.  On this day, it was beautiful out!  Sunday was sunny and warm.   A perfect day for a hike.  Or, to spend almost 3 hours in a “short” meeting to go over things before an upcoming event I was helping out with.  There sits my family, waiting.  Okay, the kids were playing but husband, well, he wasn’t too pleased to say the least.  So, after a few “reserved” words to one another, he went one way and I went the other.  A bike ride w/ the kids and then a hike, alone, with the kids and the dog….and my pepper spray (it’s a crazy world).

All kinds of things were running through my head.  So many, I’m ashamed to even admit them. But, I’m sure you can guess how the snowball got rolling and before long, my thoughts were REALLY sour.  Sour with everyone.  “This is ridiculous” I told myself.  So, I then began throwing up prayers.  Random ones…”God, take this and make of it what you want”…”Show me where I’m at fault”….”Let him apologize, he’s clearly wrong”…..”Help me move to a remote island”….okay, that last one didn’t happen but the first two did!

Instead, He sent a neighbor inviting us over for pizza.  Sure beats the cold mac and tuna I was going to make!  That was God’s answer.  All I needed was something to stop this vicious cycle of my sour thoughts.  It was a wonderful evening…we vented to our friends and expressed the “lack” of boundaries we all get at some point.   After some great pizza and a glass of wine, all was well again.

There are a lot of “good” things out there to be a part of.  There are also a lot of things we don't need to be a part of.  I’m reminded that every time I say “yes” to something, I’m in turn saying “no” to something.  In this case, it was my family.  God calls me to be a good wife and mother.  I’m sad to say that at times I fail in those departments.  This is my season of being at home with my children and being a good “keeper” of the home.  After this “season”, I can say “yes” to many more things.

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Thanks for this Angela.
So glad we could help save your marriage with a little cheese and sausage. ;)

Boundaries are hard to set up...saying No can be tough! {at least for me}

Knowing when to say yes and when to say no...it gets confusing! Right?
Your family has to come first. Priorities have to be kept straight or life will get messy!

The order has to be....
1. God
2. Your spouse.
3. Your kids.
4. Then extended family.

Your immediate household must sit at the top of your list. You need to protect it's place.
If you let this go, life will get messy and stressful.

Sometimes we have to say no to even the good things in order to protect our family.
Those currently in your household are most important.
{Preaching to myself here!}

If you're having trouble deciphering, ask your husband/wife to help keep you balanced.
Trust me, they know when things are off.

Here  is a great little piece on saying no!
Love the title..... I Miss My Actual Life.  
How many times have we all felt this way?! Read it, it's great.

Hope you're having a great Tuesday.
XxOo

To wrap up the week.....

Last weekend it was just Jeff and I.  All kids were with grandparents.
We went into the city, saw a movie and...Talked!
Having a long conversation at this point in our lives is not always easy to do...we realized we HAVE to be intentional about this otherwise it won't happen.

Do you have the YouVersion bible app? If not, you should get it.
This plan popped up front and center last week...
...Jeff and I were in a bit of a fight at the time! (his fault of course ;)
Isn't that how God works? He puts before us what we NEED to hear and see...
...especially when we don't want to hear and see it! Silly pride, right?


After walking by Mario's the past few summers, we finally found out what the big deal was!
Stop...that's all I'm going to say.

So I thought I was doing the right thing by shopping local and purchasing my tomato plants from the "Master Gardener" of the county. She explained what each plant was....and also sold a bunch of Roma Tomato plants to me at a great price so I could make sun-dried tomatoes for our pizzas!
Well....let. Me. Tell. You! NEVER AGAIN!!!!!
I have in my garden 9,000 tomatoes the size of pearls!!!
What on earth am I supposed to do with pearl size, thick skinned tomatoes?

NOT ONE ROMA!!!
This is the first time in many years I have no tomatoes...
I feel like the end scene in A Christmas Story ...right after the turkey is destroyed.

Only my scene goes a little more like....
No canning salsa.
No tomato pie.
No sun-dried tomatoes....
...gone, all gone!
Moral of the story....
Never Trust a Master Gardener! ...or at least not the one I went to. ;)

Hope you have a Great weekend!!!
XxOo

Everyone's sharing back to school and we're over here stripping off clothes and sunbathing....

It's much easier to relax without a diaper on. The tabs are fairly simple to open...
...just don't let your mom catch you, okay?


This time of year I feel like I live in another world....
I hear the school buses going by...I see the neighbor kids leave with their backpacks on...
...everyone on the planet is posting back to school pictures and talking about packing lunches.

We don't start school until much later than everyone else and I start to feel behind.
Then I remember, wait, we homeschool! I make the rules. I set the dates.

I know I write about this every single year...but I don't like our summer to end until September.
August is still hot and sunny and not for sitting inside filling out math worksheets.
Labor Day in my mind is the start of the fall season and the beginning of the school year....
...although pumpkins don't go on my porch until the actual first day of fall. Ha!

Jeff said I needed to break my sandals-only-in-summer habit...he bought a new pair of shoes for me.
At first I didn't know if I could handle NOT wearing sandals...but..I love them.
And the fact that he chose them and bought them makes them even more special.
I am not a sentimental person...but when it comes to gifts from Jeff, I am.

You can get your own pair here.
They are really comfy too!

Long Live Summer....
XxOo

The Muffins That Lied.

They looked so pretty. They smelled so good.

You see, I was chatting on the phone in the early morning,
I quickly whipped up THREE batches of blueberry muffins for my family.
{That's SIX cups of precious, fresh, only in the summer time, in season blueberries}

Now, my kids love blueberry muffins and I have made then at least 2,000 times!
They always turn out just fine.

But this time, the responses went a little something like this....
"These are gross"
"These taste like the ocean"
"These are disgusting"
....the negative comments kept on coming.

I tried one for myself. Yuck!
They looked beautiful. What could have gone wrong.

I started thinking through what I did in my head....over and over and over....
Light bulb! Baking Soda!!! Baking soda instead of powder.
Yuck.

Moral of the story.
Don't talk on the phone until the batter is mixed together. Ha!

A triple batch of blueberry muffins...wasted!
Oh well. No use crying over spilled milk...or baking soda-ed blueberries.

XxOo

To wrap up the week...{actually the past 10 days}

This week we are at the county fair making pizza! All you locals come out and see us. 
The humidity has been brutal...I can't wait for fall so I can do my hair again! Vanity.
She won a ribbon for her handmade washrag.
Much dough was made the past few days. (don't worry..your dough was safe from little hands ;)
Golden beets are pretty much the best vegetable invention ever.
A dozen roses from my oldest son just because. So sweet.
Saltwater Sandals are still my favorite....especially on baby boys.

I have a daughter with a fever..in the summer! So we're hanging out at home this evening.
Sophia. Frankie. and me.  Everyone else is at the fair making pizza or watching the rodeo.

A song for your weekend.
Hope you have a great one.
XxOo

Sprinkles of fun mixed in with the crazy.

 

These photos say.... This family is having a relaxing and fun filled summer with cousins.
When in reality, the complete opposite is happening. It's crazy and busy!

However, there are always relaxing and fun filled moments sprinkled within the busy.
You just have to find them.seize them.enjoy them.
....and take pictures of them. ;)

Also...the busy isn't all that bad either.
It's work..but it's filled with family and friends and all good things.

Hope you're having a great week.
XxOo