A Giveaway

Hey guys, check out this fun giveaway at Eden's Evaluations. :)

Jillian + Dawson {Sneak Peek}

I had the privilege of being a second shooter at a friend's wedding last month, so I thought I'd share a quick picture with you guys. :)

I'm still editing the rest of the pictures, so it might be a week or two before I get around to showing you the rest of them. 

:)

Dirty Dishes , Chia Seeds & Missing my Mommy

Today was pretty crazy. 

Funny how when the mother is gone, life changes. 

Mom  says I tend to be an over-achiever, and sometimes I laugh at her and dismiss that thought with a wave of my hand. Today I realized that maybe it's true. Lol.

My Grandparents on my mom's side both accepted Christ, (praise the Lord!), so she left for Mississippi early this morning, before I was even awake, so she could attend their baptism. :)

So, last night I set the alarm for  zero dark thirty, (or maybe it was 7 a..m.. But they're pretty much the same if you ask me), and actually got up when it went off. :) Got up, then crawled back in bed. O_o

I was so groggy, it was like I had to go to bed for three minutes before I could get up. I guess I needed that three minutes though, 'cuz I felt fine after that. ;)

It was weird being the only one up. Weird, yet peaceful. I did a quick workout to get me all waked up, (Emily grammar. Get over it.), got dressed, and had my devotions. It was wonderful. :) 

It was kind of funny, I grabbed my bible, and wasn't sure where to read, so I asked God to give me something that would help me through my day. Ephesians 4 came to mind. I figured it was probably because my pastor had sent out an e-mail saying that's where we would be on Sunday. So I sat down in my corner on the couch, and proceeded t read from Ephesians 4.

MAN! As I was reading that, I started to squirm in my seat.  Right off the bat it was telling me to....

walk in a manner worthy of  the calling to which you have been called, 2 with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, 3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ouch.

And get this....

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

I was hoping for something more along the lines of the Proverb that says, "He who spares the rod hates his son, but he who loves him disciplines him promptly." 

But no, The Lord knew what I need to read, and it came in handy as I went about my chores.

I'd be washing dishes, and one of the kids would run up to me: "Em, Carver hit me on the head with a light saber!"..... "Em, Noah took the motorcycle away!"....."ELMY! Audrey spit her tongue out at me!", etc... and I would be silently chanting to myself, "Patience, patience, patience,patience...." :)

Unfortunately, I don't have the patience of a saint, but we're all still alive to tell the tale, so all is well. :)

Shortly after my devotions, small people began to emerge from their beds, stating that they were hungry, so breakfast was started, and soon their little tummies were filled. I remembered mom said to have the kids pick up apples outside so as to keep the wasps at bay. I sent them out and began working on that yearly task that, I have to admit, is not my favorite: Applesauce.

Armed with nothing but an apple-peeler-corer-slicer, and my determination to see this box of apples empty, I began the long and arduous task. Okay, so it wasn't that bad....just a little odd to be doing it by myself. 

Five hours later I had six lovely jars sitting on the counter top. I should get a medal..........

World's Slowest Applesauce Maker

Although, it wasn't five straight hours, so I'm not as slow as you might think. ;) Lol. Part of that was kitchen clean-up.

I had grand plans to take a nap or do something relaxing while the monsters,  *KIDS! I meant kids!*, were sleeping, but then I decide to make granola.

Now, I have never made granola in my entire life, but I'd seen my mom do it, and Pinterest is out there for a reason, so to Pinterest I went. 10 minutes later, after much deliberation I had selected "The Best Pumpkin Granola". I generally don't believe it when the recipes say they're the best, but this was the only one I had everything I needed for it. ;)

I pushed up my hoodie sleeves and got to work. 

Mistake #1 was forgetting that I was halving the recipe when I did the spices, which surely wouldn't be a big deal because I looooooooove cinnamon. :) I wasn't too sure about the salt however.....oh, well.

Mistake #2 was putting it back in the oven after stirring it at the 18 minute mark, for 10 more minutes like the recipe said, even though my gut was telling me NOT TO DO IT. 

Sure enough, I pulled out the delicious smelling pan of pumpkin granola goodness aaaaaaaaand........it was burnt. -_- Grrrrrr....   Looks can be deceiving I thought, so I popped a cluster in my mouth aaaaaaaand......yep. It was burnt. -_-

No pumpkin granola for me.

By the time I had the kitchen RE-cleaned, and folded the last of the laundry, I heard, "Eeeeeeeeelmy! Eeeeeeeeelmy!"  Which we all know is the 'I'm-awake-can I get up now?' cry, coming from the deepest corners of the house where the monsters, *KIDS!*, (what is wrong with my computer?!?!) sleep. I poked my head in Audrey's room to tell her she could get up, and was greeted with, "I'm wet."

"okay, just get some clean clothes, and I'll change your sheet in a minute."

I go into Noah's room and am greeted with, "I'm soaky wet." -_-

"Okay, let's get you changed real quick." 

Unfortunately, Bobble, (Noah's blankie), ended up slightly wet, so I mentally added putting that in the wash on my to-do list along with Audrey's sheets.

Then mom called. I must have been so ecstatic to hear her voice, (c'mon, she'd been gone for nine whole hours!), that the sheets, and blankie totally slipped my mind.

Good grief where does the time go?!?! I looked at the clock and realized it was time to start heating up dinner. Gourmet Chili Mac. Oh, yeah. 

Of course, I wanted to make something healthier for myself, so while that was heating I again returned to pinterest to see what yummy thing I could conjure up. And forgot briefly about the mac 'n cheese. O_o 

Don't worry mom! It only scorched a tiny bit. I really do have this under control!!! ;) So I took my computer to the kitchen and never left that pot's side until it was done, and attempted to stir, FB message my sister, look up a dessert recipe, and make my dinner at the same time. I tend to get sidetracked easily, in case you couldn't tell. Lol.

When dinner was finished I looked around at my once clean kitchen, which was now a mini disaster, (it's been worse), and let out a small groan. But this time I recruited a younger sibling to help, and it went by much faster, especially since I turned some of my music on. :) Soon it was sparkling again. :)

Then I decided to make snack.

Which, again, came off Pinterest. I really like pinterest. :) 

How can you resist something called 'deep dish chocolate fudge oatmeal bars', or some such name.

I know. You cant.

We usually have snack at 7:00, and when I started it was 6:50-ish. I figured it would probably take 30 minutes to bake, then it would have to set up, so it would be late, but I could easily have the kids in bed before 8:30. Hehe. At 7:45 I ran out of patience with this thing and stuck it in the fridge to see if  it would set up....it did. Haha! VICTORY AT LAST!!!

8:00 had us getting jammies on, and reading "The Memoirs of a Goldfish", which, by the way, is really cute. :) 

15 minutes later, with some fear and trembling I cut into this concoction of mine. Jacob requested cookie bars I had made a few nights ago, but I suggested these instead. So, of course the whole time I was making these I was afraid if I failed, he would be bitterly dissapointed, and never let me live it down that I MESSED UP HIS DESSERT! We Menne's take our food seriously. Nothing is worse than looking forward to a certain food, only to have it be a flop, or worse- someone tries something else, promising it will be just as good...and it's not.

I passed bowls out and waited for the verdict....

One by one, smiles lit their faces, and "Mmm...that's good!" came from mouths full of oatmeal and chocolate goodness. It was a hit. :)

Which is good, because there's still a very large pan sitting on the counter.

I believe it was at this point I finally remembered the luandry.

Teeth were brushed, hugs and kisses doled out, kids were tucked in their beds, and I was left standing in a very clean, quiet living room, with just Jacob. I wasn't quite sure what to do with myself, since dad wasn't home, and Meg was at the station. I did a few wanna-be headstands, re-wiped the counters, made an overnight oatmeal-chia seed concoction, (I'm always making concoctions), Made dad's dinner when he got home, and blogged, (obviously), in the living room by myself.

The moral of my story?

Mothers are amazing things. After doing one day by myself, I have a lot more appreciation for my mom and everything she does! And I don't  even have to get up at night with a baby...

I love you mom! And we all miss you already. :)