EAA Air Venture!

On Friday we went to Oshkosh for the world renown EAA Air Venture 2011! It was amazing! What is air venture? It's "The World's Greatest Aviation Celebration" composed of thousands and thousands of every type of air craft from around the world! Now, I have never been super into planes, but this event is awesome and I love going! They have everything from ultra light little air craft, war birds, actual air craft from WWII and everything in between! People from all around the world gather every year and it is truly an experience. I don't really know where to even begin describing in detail, and seeing as a picture is worth a thousand words... I'll share some of hubby's and my favorite photos.

I will say this, it was hot. Miserably, miserably hot. It felt as if someone had a 10 pound cotton sweater, boiled it in water then you put it on on a hot summer day before going outside. It was hot. I am surprised how well the girls did. We probably applied and reapplied spf 60 sunscreen 6 times on them, almost always had them in the shade and fed them many strawberry and banana smoothies. (In addition of course to lots of water!) They, like hubby and I, were so exhausted at the end of it all, but it was loads of fun and I would do it again in a heart beat!

From July 30, 2011

My Dad and the little Ellie Belly. :)

From July 30, 2011

Didi with the American flag, in honor of our Veterans.

From July 30, 2011

Ellie was crying while in the stroller so hubby picked her, she just melted in his arms. Sweet baby girl! She is a daddy's girl through and through. :)

From July 30, 2011

That had a group of woman jumpers. These are just two of the photos of them parachuting down, it was so awesome. :)

From July 30, 2011

From July 30, 2011

From July 30, 2011

A few very friendly, but a little odd, men dressed up in some vintage flight suits. Great photo op! I asked to take their picture and they were more than delighted!

From July 30, 2011

They then asked me to jump in the photo and the middle man handed me his book, then asked me to pretend I was teaching them how to fly. Yes... very goofy.

From July 30, 2011

One of my favorite photos!

From July 30, 2011

This is probably my most favorite photo! Daniel both took this and did the post process work. :)

From July 30, 2011

Another one of my favorites, that hubby took :) I feel so bad that I don't remember the names of all (or any, really) of all the many WWII planes that flew. But they really were all breathtaking.

From July 30, 2011

From July 30, 2011

The sad result of being in the sun for a couple of hours. I put on sunscreen, but you can see where I tried to reapply it myself. OUCH!!!! (not photoshoped, I might add.

From July 30, 2011

I have to get off the computer and spend some time with my honey now....I have been to long on the computer! Have a great weekend everyone! :)

Low Calorie But Still Healthy Lean Ground Turkey Stuffed Peppers

Whew! What a mouthful! Well, it will be once you make it! hahaha...ok, stupid joke :( But the recipe is amazing!

We try to eat as healthy and as lean as possible (most times anyway) so I am always looking for yummy and healthy recipes. Stuffed peppers are one of our family's favorite meal! I used to make them with regular ground beef and mixed lots of cheese in them, then topped them each with their own little mountain of cheese towards the end of baking. SO very good! But so very bad....

Anyway, here is a little healthier recipe. This version of stuffed peppers has just enough little extra kick where you don't really notice the difference of ground turkey (instead of ground beef) and the lack of cheese. So, here it is:

Ingredients:

* 5 Servings of cooked rice

* 3 Peppers

* 2 cans of tomatoes and green chilies

* frozen corn

* frozen peas

* Pico De Gallo

* Aprox 1 pound of ground turkey

Cook the rice. I made it the long way this time, but instant rice works well too! See how boring and sad the rice looks? Add in two cans of tomatoes/green chilies! Then about 3/4 cup frozen corn kernals and about the same (maybe less) of frozen peas. (I did end up adding some tomato sauce because it looked to dry.

From July 28, 2011

From July 28, 2011

Time for the pico de gallo! Hubby and I really like this stuff (found at costco!!!) So I added about a cup. Mix that all up and and you have your filling!

From July 28, 2011

From July 28, 2011

For the peppers get a pot of water boiling with just a pinch of salt. Cut off the tops of the peppers and take out all the seeds inside. Let them boil for about 7 minutes or so. Just enough so that they are all tender and bright!

(notice I stacked them all creative and artistic like, with one laying on it's side? :)

From July 28, 2011

Place those in a pan. Once they are cool enough to handle, fill the peppers with the rice mixture. I always make extra rice mixture because we love having the rice for lunch the next day.

(The secret to any recipe? Making it while drinking a cup coffee of course! Notice the background pink mug :)

From July 28, 2011

From July 28, 2011

Once everything is all filled, stick in a pre heated oven of 400* for about 20 min. Volia! Yummy stuffed peppers! What about the ground turkey? Well, I forgot about it until after the peppers were already in the oven. Blah!

I opened the microwave to warm up my coffee (mmm....java.....) and there it was, the perfectly defrosted ground turkey! Duh! Oh well, now I can use the turkey for another night and the stuffed peppers turned out even leaner and were still just as good! If you want to know when to use that, just cook up the ground turkey with lots of garlic, onion powder, (or a chopped up onion, you go getter you!) and some hot sauce. Drain and add the turkey with the rest of the rice mixture.

There you go, a super delicious and healthy dinner!

Wordless Wednesday

So, for wordless Wednesday today I chose a few photos from our trip down to Kentucky earlier this month. (which I still have yet to blog about!)

From July 27, 2011

3 Years Ago Today We Became One! Our 3 Year Wedding Anniversary :)

Wow... I can't believe it's been 3 years since I married the man that God created just for me! We had a whirlwind romance, only knowing each other a matter of weeks really before our wedding day (He proposed on our second date, I said yes!) I know without a doubt that he is the one God created for me and I am am the other half to him! God's love is truly beyond comprehension and I am overwhelmed that He chose to bless me with such an amazing man. I can't imagine going through this life without him. He is my best friend, my other half, the most understanding, kind, gentle and amazing man. he's my husband and I can't imagine one day without him.

Since getting married there has been a lot of life packed in our 3 years together (and 2 children!) Life is far from easy sometimes and not always romantic, but every night while cuddled up, we would not have our life any other way. :) I love you my Daniel and look forward to continuing to spend every day with you!

Two are better than one, because they have a good return for their labor: If either of them falls down, one can help the other up. But pity anyone who falls and has no one to help them up. Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm. But how can one keep warm alone? Though one may be overpowered, two can defend themselves. A cord of three strands is not quickly broken

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

My lover spoke and said to me,
"Arise, my darling,
my beautiful one, and come with me.

See! The winter is past;
the rains are over and gone.

Flowers appear on the earth;
the season of singing has come,
the cooing of doves
is heard in our land.

The fig tree forms its early fruit;
the blossoming vines spread their fragrance.
Arise, come, my darling;
my beautiful one, come with me."

Song of Solomon 2:10-13

A Weekend Of Relaxing and Family :)

Well, this week has been crazy! So, what do we do today? Relax! Lot's and lot's of relaxing! Weekends are such a special time for our family, a time to relax, refresh and renew. So that's what this weekend was all about. Normally, as long as the kids are up to it, we like to be outside and out doing things, but not today! Today, hubby and I spent the majority of our morning and afternoon playing games on the xbox and being on the computer, reveling in the sweet bliss of doing nothing. We let the children eat sweets with their breakfast and we ignored the dishes and just sat together and drank coffee (a whole pot!) and didn't stress about a thing! It felt great. :)

Mid afternoon we were all ready to get out for a bit though, so we loaded up and went out to the park! Hubby even suggested we bring my camera (of course! :) so he could get some photos of me and the girls, that was nice. :) Being the photographer of the family ( or at least the one with the camera at all times) there are not many photos of me and the girls unless I take them, and that can be such a headache. So it was a very welcomed and sweet gesture of the hubby to offer to want to take photos. I gladly agreed! ( It was even sweeter that he patiently waited the 45 minutes for me to find cute dresses for the girls and for me to do my hair :)

Anyway, these are all hubby's photos (except the one we used the tripod for so we could get one of us :) so all credit goes to him. He is the better one at photography, he taught me just about all the technical stuff I know. :) These are just a few of the pictures we took. Have a relaxing and rejuvenating weekend everyone!

From A Meg Moment

From A Meg Moment

From A Meg Moment

From A Meg Moment

From A Meg Moment

From A Meg Moment

From A Meg Moment

From A Meg Moment

From A Meg Moment

From A Meg Moment

Pretty Pastels, Dreamy Colors, and Billowy Dresses!

So, I never have been a real fashion maven or terribly concerned about my clothing, but I do love pretty things! Pretty, girly, feminine things! I may be here in 2011, but my heart belongs somewhere in vintage land. :) Right now my wardrobe is pretty basic, seeing as I have either been pregnant or breastfeeding for the past 2 years. Now, the dodo bird is 2 and Ellie belly is 1 and I still am crawling around the floor a bunch and getting the occasional spoon full of their latest meal on me, but I am trying to invest in a few nice things here and there!

I like having a plan and insist on sticking to a budget! Maybe I'll see something I really love here or there and I'll get it, but for the most part I'll have an idea in my head on what I want and I'll stick to it! (usually... :) I don't want to buy something I only half like, but something that I know I'll love and wear all the time! I was on Pinterest for a little bit today and gathered some ideas of what my dream wardrobe would (will!) look like. I plan on scouring resale shops, rummage sales and maybe even a vintage shop here and there as I slowly build up a wardrobe that includes timeless pieces that make me feel like a lady! I plan on not spending more than $10.00 on any one piece, $15.00 at most.

Our treasures should be stored in heaven, everything on this earth is fleeting! I do not want to get caught up in outward appearances, but I don't think as woman we need to look dowdy either. Our heavenly Father created all the many colors and wants us to enjoy life! He is the one who put the colors on the flowers, painted the sky with brilliance, taught the birds their songs, the brook to babble and the sun to shine. He wants us to enjoy this fleeting life in all it's splendor! Praise the Lord always and in EVERYTHING rejoice!

Pretty, girly and feminine!

I love the muted mint green and the petal soft pink dresses, the lace just ties everything together! If I were to find a dress like this I would layer a modest tank top underneath it and also a longer skirt underneath to lengthen the look.

Sparkle party dress! I think this would be perfect as a holiday dress with a 3/4 sleeve black shirt underneath. So pretty and unpractical! :)

I love this hair style! So dreamy, whispy and romantic! I will be trying this one soon!

Oh, I love this dress! It looks so very comfortable! The soft looking cotton jersy I bet just feels sublime when you put it on! It's simple enough where I would could ware it around the house all day and it's pretty enough that if you throw on a necklace and cute shoes, it would be a perfect date night dress with the hubby! This is probably one of the only dresses that I have seen in long time that if I knew where to get it, I would go buy it right now!

These dresses remind me more of dress up as a little girl than anything else, which adds to the charm. There is nothing quite as precious as little girls and the hope in their heart for a home of their own! A home filled with love, sunshine and laughter of little children and... of course.... their knight in shining armor! The man that will sweep them off their feet, and be your one true love! Yes, lots of my little girl fantasies for the future were viewed with rose tinted glasses (aren't they all!)

Of course, as you get older (and wiser, hopefully!) you learn that romance has to do just as much with work, sweat, a whole lot of commitment and some daily doses of reality. As Christian woman we are to serve our families. This includes waking up early, staying up late, long suffering (patience) kindness, gentleness and showing Grace where maybe you don't think Grace is deserved. Part of love and romance is knowing that you are made to serve! God wants our attitudes to be that of serventhood, but not of a slave! We serve because we choose to serve, not because we are forced too. (Proverbs 31)

As much as true love can be "work" I believe (or what God has placed in my heart) is that it's still ok..... nay, even HEALTHY to have daydreams of romance for you husband! My mind is so often just in the moment or just focusing on getting through that day, that by the end of the day and at the end of my rope, all I want to do is go to bed or stare numbly at the tv. But, since the kids go to bed before we do, why not make time for romance?

Why settle for reruns on tv when you can talk over candle light while eating chocolate covered strawberries? Of course, this takes forethought, And lots of it! In the hussle and bussle of meal planning and shopping list making, why not daydream of romance and plan on buying strawberries and some chocolate? During the week while the kids are napping or you have some quite time, make those chocolate covered strawberries and think of you hubby and eagerly anticipate him! Send him an email or text message and tell him what you think of him and how much you are looking forward to his arrival at home, give him something to daydream about!

May you rejoice in the wife of your youth! Proverbs 5:18

Now, as I write this... Im feeling pretty convicted. Fot the past 2 weeks Im pretty sure I have done nothing but complain to poor hubby once he has gotten home, that and nag him. God wants more for him, and our marriage. These last few days before the weekend, I will ask God to help make me more aware of my words before they come spilling out of my mouth. I will pray and ask that by HIS Grace all that I say and do be nothing but encouraging and life giving! I also think I'll pick up some strawberries this Friday... ;) Ladies.... lets commit to serving our husbands and families this next week!