A Choice

I made a choice today....I chose to thank God for each step I took today from the moment my toes hit the floor. I decided I was going to do this the moment I shut my eyes last night.

It has been pretty heavy around here lately and there is nothing I can do about the heaviness. So I decided I wasn't going to let myself get bogged down anymore and made the choice to be thankful instead.

And you know what?? Today was amazing. I rocked it...I accomplished a ton at work and felt really satisfied when I got home which made it so much easier to love up on my family as soon as I walked through the door. God was with me all day!! I could feel His hand upon me all day. I knew he was there and I was so thankful for that. Sometimes it takes some perspective in life...sometimes it takes looking at the big picture and asking yourself some hard questions. Is my stinky mood going to help any of this or any of us????? NO! Can I change the choices others are making for themselves????? NO! Should at let others steal my joy???? NO! Do I need to give up control???? YES! So that is what I did I gave up control and decided to be thankful instead. I allowed the situation to be what it is and not worry because really worrying is saying that God can't handle it and I know that is the farthest thing from the truth.

This all being said I work a 12 hour day tomorrow. I am going to choose to thank God for each minute of it:)

What to expect when attending a catered event.....

Ok people here is the long and short of catered event lingo. I have run into a lot of folks that are confused by with the difference between social, cocktail party, buffet, plated dinner, etc. Sometimes the confusion comes across fairly offensively. And I will tell you why.

Cocktail Party and Social are more often than not one in the same. This type of a party usually involves appetizers and beverages. Sometimes the appetizers come from all types of genres from sweet to savory and back again. These parties are not intended to provide you with a whole meal, so don't come expecting one:) Also just because the food appears small and sometimes simple, for the people making the dishes it is the exact opposite. We often spend countless hours providing each bite. A party for 200 people can easily equal 2000 pieces of food...this takes a lot of time and even more planning and thought than a regular meal. So be thankful, enjoy your time and go out for dinner afterwords. Oh and when requesting a bid such as this keep in mind that just because its "only" appetizers it will be cheaper.....so not true, we can often provide a full meal for the same price.

Buffet is an all you can eat situation, people have planned for you to come heap your plate with more food then you should eat in a week and enjoy. Although I must add a disclaimer....have some restraint it is no fun keeping a buffet line open for people to have 3rds and 4ths:) This food is often made in bulk quantities and we could keep it coming all night though so yum yum...eat up.

Plated Dinner equals fancy. Most times if you are lucky enough to attend an event that serves a plated meal someone has spent much time planning exactly what is on the plate in front of you. Most times we have spent a lot of time thinking of flavor profiles, aesthetics and what I call curb appeal as well as garnishing and what not. Plated meals are tricky because you are serving a lot of plates that need to look and taste as close to the same as possible. Know that there are probably 10 people at least making sure the plates come out in an orderly fashion. There is a big push for everything to get out hot and pretty:)

Mainly just remember to treat your caterers with respect and love!! Most of us really have a passion as to how your food comes to you and what it tastes like. Make a point to tell them everything was yum:) One yum goes a long way:)

Hope you find this helpful.

This public service announcement was provided and funded by The Angry Blueberry herself.

So Long Security Commisioning

These were the beautiful words Beth Moore left us with today. I cried my eyes out....surprise, surprise:)

My Dear Sister

If Christ is Your Savior

You are the dwelling place

Of His own Spirit

You have it IN YOU

to be secure.

Every day of your life

You have a choice to make

You can live in your old defeat

Or you can turn from your unbelief

And choose life

Make up your mind

To put off the old you

And put on the new you.

Never, ever, ever forget

That the Lord is your security.

He will keep your foot

From being caught in a trap.

He will take care of you

To your very last breath.

Now, leave this place

And go out into the world

And act like a person

Who knows she’s dearly loved.

You were born to be exceptional.

So, Girlfriend, go forth

And walk worthy of your calling.

You are clothed in strength and dignity!

Now unto Him

Who can keep you from falling

Be glory and majesty

Power and authority

Through Jesus Christ our Lord

Now and forever more

Amen.

So Long, Insecurity!

I am going to try and say so long insecurity....

I am going to be bold and share a few things that hopefully won't offend anyone. That being said I know that there are parts of my life that make some shudder...heck there are parts of my life that make me shudder. I will not go into a ton of detail here because a lot of my experiences need to be kept private because they don't only involve me, they involve family and others that I need to respect. That being said if you read this and are offended I didn't intend that so please trust me when I say that.

There are many things that I have brought these thoughts up recently, the most recent would be the Beth Moore Simulcast i attended today. It made think a lot about my insecurities the things that make me tick the things that make me upset and I realize a lot of it has to do with pride. Insecurity really equals pride, Beth was so right.

Recently my feelings were hurt. At the time I could not express why I was so hurt but I think after today it has all come full circle and I get it. My feelings at the time seemed to be rooted around the fact that someone had shared some information about some struggles I was going through with my family. I was so mad, really so embarrassed. Now I need to say sorry. You know who you are, you know how I reacted at what I know in your mind was love and concern. My reaction was the reaction I know all to well defend and protect. Love is hard for me to accept, it is hard for me to allow others to love me completely because that means I have to trust and trust is way hard for me. I will attempt now to stop talking in riddles and be open and honest the best I can without being embarrassed and prideful.

My childhood was not like many of yours or many of my friends for that matter. It was rough in fact its still rough. There is not a whole lot pretty about it and there are a lot of secrets that lie within it that involve so many others that I couldn't even begin to share at this point. I was not raised in a Christian home...I was raised in a broken home. These are two things that are hard for me to say out loud. I know how silly this must sound...I mean I have not much control over what has happened in my childhood. I will never forget a when a girl in my youth group referred to my parents as pagans...they are not pagans they just aren't Christians. This was one of the last times I openly talked about my parents faith or lack there of I suppose. I have prayed for years that God would use me to bring them the good news and I have come to be comfortable with the simple fact that it may not be my calling. This is embarrassing for me to say. My high school years are full of trying to fit in and giving up of myself in a lot of ways just to feel loved and accepted. This is also embarrassing. In fact that girl makes me feel so sad I wish I could go back and love her and tell her how things would turn out if she would just have let God work fully in her life. So often I think if people were to find out about my real story they would judge and allow it to define me but really it doesn't define me at all. It is part of what has made me who I am and without sounding full of myself I think I can finally say that woman is pretty great.

I am so ready to let go of the burden and let God take it!! I am so ready to not feel insecure about things that were beyond my control and even the things that I could control and actually be bold enough to look around and see how he has used the pain for his good because I know he has and will continue to.

The most beautiful thing is and the thing that I try to remind myself of daily is that God has pulled me pushed me and carried me through all of it. And I can feel secure in his love and grace for me!! So, so long insecurity, you are no friend of mine!! I love who I am and I am going to start loving where I came from. Its a great story and God created it and I am praying that I can use it to honor and bring glory to Him.

A Random , Exciting, Exhilirating Post!

Tomorrow I get to spend the day doing something enjoyable for me...I am going to see the Beth Moore Simulcast at Christ the King Church:) Boy am I excited!! I pick the babysitters up at 8:30 and away we go:) WOOHOO

My dear friend Willie still needed tickets however CTK has been sold out for weeks. After much joking about scalping tickets or sneaking her in we had lost hope....until this morning. I won four tickets on Praise for her to go to the simulcast in Vancouver. I was caller #6:) Can't believe it!!! Yeah Wilie you are on your way!! How silly, I have never been so excited about winning something and it wasn't even for me!! SO pack your tissue you Willie who cries as much as I do!!

I may have been whispering Big Money, No Whammies as the phone was ringing...all of this single mom stuff is starting to make me crazy. Brian comes home tonight though I can't wait! I miss him so much. And after watching Gone With The Wind with Sarah last night I am full of mushy love and dramatic heartache..................I would share my favorite line in the movie but then you would all puke and never read my blog again so I won't. But if you guess which one I will tell you if you are right.

Good Food, Good Friends, Good Times

Today I worked, yesterday I worked and the day before that I worked. My work week is over woohoo!! A little tidbit about work for you, many of you have asked what its like. Well it is much like I would imagine Cooking School to be. This is funny to me because just a couple of months ago I told Brian I needed to take a few more cooking classes, in addition to my constant addiction to cook books and the like. I had been wanting to learn more about other techniques and cooking styles. Well be careful what you wish for and pray about because sometimes you get exactly that. My day starts with food and ends with food because as soon as I get home from work I start thinking about how I will accomplish dinner, oh and did I mention i come home most days smelling and probably resembling a meatball?. Back to my job though.....I have been stretched in every way imaginable so far, my boss is amazing she actually intimidates me a bit which is funny! She is constantly critiquing me even when she loves what I do...its exhausting!! She told me nicely the first week I worked there that my knife skills stunk. She now tells me I have improved quickly and to a point she finds satisfactory????? Whatever that is supposed to mean? She explained to me how to properly make a salad yesterday...I was offended at first but then I realized her communication skills stink and that's ok:) I fond myself thanking her when she explains things to me in a satisfactory fashion, its all about positive reinforcement right (it works with my kids you can't blame me for trying). I did develop a new recipe today and she gave me permission to keep it..ok whatever:) It is funny because at times she tells me to develop something that falls under a certain umbrella or she tells me to find something to fill a tart shell and that is when I feel the most confident because that is when I get to be me and do things the way I do them. She even asked me for my Signature Salmon Recipe the other day and I gave her most of it;) It may seem like I am negative about my job, however I am having the time of my life and soaking every minute up like a sponge. I am a learner by nature I love info and that is exactly what I am getting. The final word on the job is HUMBLE....it is keeping me very HUMBLE:)

Our friends came over on Sunday as usual for games:) It was a blast we had yummy food and played a game of Settlers. This is the original game of "game night" and we haven't played it in awhile so that was a treat. I actually spent most of the time enjoying the company and gave up my strategy. Brian won I must admit by a landslide:) I love our friends they are the best friends anyone could ask for and they are all ours:) I love how we are all so excited about each others lives and accomplishments and how we support one another through the rough patches. If you are one of these friends you know who you are and we love ya!!

Good times are on their way:) Operation Siding next Saturday should hold many great memories and lots of laughs. I will be catering that day as well as supporting a food booth and then rushing home to feed some hungry men, by request they will have stuffed hamburgers and all the perfect sides to go with them. The next Saturday is the annual Jager Spring Potluck. And guess what, I am not making pulled pork this year (:() I know its a bit sad and I will truly miss the smell of pork (heaven) slow cooking in the oven but we are switching things up and having homemade fish and chips and a mini dessert buffet:) YUM YUM I don't think anyone will be to disappointed.

So that catches you up:) And if you are attending the event I am catering next weekend you will be the first to try my newest dessert recipe:)

Our Google Search Story.....

Try this out it is really fun:)
Our Google Search Story

I Have Regained My Sanity.....

Thank you to all who called, emailed, and/or offered to help me with my crazy life..you are much to good to me. My blog is really an amazing outlet to me, so much so that I even forget I am writing something that others may read.? Anywho...the support was very nice and very appreciated and to show for it I have all of my laundry washed, a clean patio and shed and little to no construction debris hanging around:) Thank You, Thank You, Thank You!!
Here are some new pictures of our progress. That window will be gone although many think window access to the kitchen would be handy:)
The new window is gorgeous, this isn't a very good picture of it. In the distance you can see the chaos in my laundry room...there are rumors of sheet rock being put up in there this evening. Keep your fingers crossed for me.
Here is our beautiful door. I absolutely love it. Should have taken a picture of the new steps Grandpa built outside of it though.....they are beautiful!!! Thanks Grandpa. Oh can you see my lilac bush peeking through the window? It is lovely:)
Oh and here is the newest hole:) I came home from work to the new hole this evening my husband was confused as to why I found it a bit overwhelming. However I am trying to have a good attitude.

One of my friends who will remain nameless was nice enough to call me out last week and reminded me that complainng about my "perfect" life could be offensive to others. I figured she was right and I should probably clear up any confusion linked to my thankfulness for the project. I know how blessed I am in fact it brings me to tears frequently. We have more help than I could even begin to ask for, Grandpa has been here every day for over a week now helping and Grandma comes along most days to clean up a bit or see what she can do to help. My Dad has been here on numerous occasions as well as many of our other friends and family members. People have taken us for dinner, brought treats and called me with support. My wonderful, amazing, supportive and loving Mother-in-law did all of my laundry for me because my laundry room is crazy right now. So what I am saying is I feel and know I am completely blessed. I am thankful beyond anything I can express in words.

I am not sure you can see the verses written on the walls in any of the pictures but people have come over to share many lovely verses with us to bless our new room with Gods Word. Without God this project would not be possible he continues to bless beyond our wildest dreams daily.

Feeling Overwhelmed.......

I am feeling a bit overwhelmed and since this is my blog I am choosing to use it as a outlet to whine about my overwhelmedness(not a word I know).

Right now I need to be cleaning not typing. You see it all started with a construction project which turned into a major remodel. Then I took a one time job that turned into a part time job. On top of this I have major commitments for the school that start Saturday and continue thorough the summer. On Saturday evening I also have a tasting for a wedding this summer. My Laundry Room is in disarray and my husband told me I can't change that because the dryer has to stay right where it is (in the middle of the now smaller room) until the siding is put on. My dishwasher rack is more than broken taking any ease out of loading it. My oven quit working last night as I was making dinner (apparently the oven didn't get the memo concerning the kitchen remodel for NEXT year). My husband is going out of town all next week and I work 3 days, making child care extremely difficult....and I have never had to find tons of childcare before so that alone is enough to throw me over the edge. Oh and did I mention my husband invited people over for dinner tonight, bless him this is something I normally rejoice about but really if you saw my house you would understand why I am loosing my mind. On top of all of this I need to find time to shop for the tasting and buy 200 hot dogs and buns for a food booth.

So that about covers it. I think having a little prayer time is the next thing on the list and then I will move on and try to conquer a few things.

Some Good Things and Some Interesting

The house is progressing.......yeah:)
My dishwasher is holding on by a thread(literally)...boo:(
We are blessing our new room by writing scripture on the insides of the walls(come by if you have a verse you want to add)....yeah:)
My oven stopped working tonight.......double boo:(
It was sunny and warm today.....yeah:)
My life as a working mom is overwhelming and childcare is slim.....boo:(
My Grandmas new apartment is so close and we can visit anytime we want and organize her cupboards.....yeah:)
Eagle Boosters was extremely overstimulating today....boo:(
Grannies Club Luncheon was very encouraging....yeah:)
Still can't find my car keys and am using the spare....boo:(
Bible Study was amazing and I-heart- Beth Moore...yeah:)

That about sums up my day.....and that is all for tonight.

This Old House Part Three

To interrupt your normal broadcasting....Elliot is losing teeth like they are going out of style. He is now missing the famous two front teeth and I have to admit it is pretty adorable...don't tell him I said that though.
Check it out we have a wall:) Grandpa spent the better part of the day preparing a hole for the window and finishing the inner framework. BJ and Jordan spent the evening putting up the sheeting and placing the window and door where they belonged:) I can't help myself, the smiley faces are extremely necessary.
The boys were not cooperating with picture taking so this is the best picture I could get of the new door. Eventually we will put new stairs in and take the old ones out. I believe Grandpa brought over the material for the new steps so maybe BJ will be able to work on it tomorrow evening. I have to admit to a mini mental break down today. I was reflecting on the fact that my husband will be gone all next week, which means nothing will be happening here as far as home improvement goes. But after this evenings progress I am feeling encouraged again. I just feel very out of control seeing as I have no idea how to use a nail gun or frame a wall, so e helping with anything is out of the question. I suppose that's o.k. though it is encouraging my patience for sure:)

The Lelli Kelly Shoe is the Bain of my Existense.....

Don't know if you other moms out there have seen this commercial on one of the major cartoon networks or not but we have...many times. There is a cute little jingle and lots of smiley little girls with lip gloss. This commercial is the equivalent to crack for Grace, there is no other way to describe it. She wants the shoes and she wants them bad! So after the tenth time of hearing the "cute" little jingle I decided to go online and research a pair for a possible birthday present. What I am about to disclose to you will shock you beyond anything imaginable. The cheapest pair is $60....holy crap!! How is any mother supposed to justify buying a pair of these?

So what does a mom do she hops on e-bay and attempts to obtain a gently used pair....these are still going above my budget. It may be time to invest in a bedazzler and a pair of keds? Anyone have a bedazzler left over from way back? What do you think?

This Old House Part Deux

New wall in laundry room.
Spot for the new door and part of a wall (oh and random clutter that will be moved tom.)
New window in laundry room.
The picture of the missing wall before the framing.
Oh and just in case you haven't seen enough of our flashy house here is a bigger picture:)


So I know I already blogged on the topic today, however I am really trying to keep a good record of the progress for the future and for days when I feel like I can't take anymore...on these days maybe I can look back and see how far we have already come.

Today Grace and I spent most of the day at my Grandmas because my house had holes in it. It started with one hole not so bad, actually I am fairly used to this at this point. But then I received a picture message on my blackberry of a second hole, a much bigger hole then the first, in fact there was a whole wall missing. May I add it was a wall that I wasn't planning on missing? Yeah well the only thing between us and the great outdoors tonight is a piece of tyvek. (and the back porch door, that doesn't lock). Anywhoo......I think it all started with a great idea from Grandpa to add some more space into the new room, and next thing you know an extra wall is demoed. Wow this project is getting to be big.

Changes made today: Wall pulled out and partially re-framed, big window taken out of laundry room smaller window put into the laundry room to accommodate for the lack of wall space, door framing done, measuring for new window for new dining room complete, extra fridge moved out of the now smaller laundry room (it is plugged in on the patio, very redneck, no pictures sorry, I am emptying it out tomorrow and putting it on corner with free sign), many items I have no room for moved into my house what am I going to do with all of this for now??????????

Bottom line is we are keeping things moving:) Thanks again Grandpa for all of your help!! We couldn't do it without you. And thanks for pizza tonight not sure I could have found space to make dinner with all of the new "housewares" in my kitchen:)

This Old House

Yesterday was Sunday. As a general rule Jagers do not perform yard work on Sundays. In fact I become sort of grouchy when I hear the noise of lawnmowers on this day because I feel we should all be resting and enjoying and reflecting on what God has given us. With this all being said we broke all of our own rules yesterday, yet I think we still accomplished all three things I hold important (well maybe not the resting).

So the pictures reflect what we did accomplish. We tore all the yucky blue nasty siding off of our house. My dad was able to come and help which was awesome!! The kids and I had the job of putting all the old siding into the trailer. We had a lot of fun, enjoyed each other, the sunshine and reflected on our thankfulness of being able to do this project at all. It was a great day!!

SO drive by the house and check out the project. I recommend sunglasses because the glare form the silver insulation is quite impressive:)

Today Brian and his Grandpa are going to complete the framing for the new room. Yahoo. And did I mention someone (you know who you are and we are forever grateful for your help) gave us a gift this weekend. We were given a beautiful new door for the new dining room to provide access to the patio:) I will try to take a picture of it this afternoon for the next post.

SO we are truckin' along around here. Taking care of business. May 1st is the day that has been named siding day:) Many are planning on coming to help with this enormous project, thanks in advance for all of the help.

Yesterday Was A No Good, Rotten, Very Bad Day

Disclaimer - For those of you we spent time with yesterday please do not take offense the post only pertains to the three Jagers involved

I woke up being very excited about our day yesterday. First I must say expectations are horrible, when will I learn? Anywho..... we had a play date set up with friends we hadn't seen in awhile for the morning. Followed by haircuts and ending with what I thought would be a nice family dinner at home. Now I will tell you how it really went.

It started with crabby kids that I should have kept home, but we went out anyway and started off having a wonderful playdate. This led into children not remembering their manners and altogether forgetting what it means to be kind. After a nice lunch we wrapped up our playdate and moved on. In the car we I gently reminded them about the way we treat others and sustained a consequence of losing the wii for the rest of the day. I thought this would do it, I thought we would learn from this exercise, but no there was more to come. Next we went for a haircut with my sister. My kids generally do well with this (notice the world generally). This ended with one of children making my sister cry because that child decided to yell that they didn't like their haircut, and then proceeded to melt into a puddle in the chair. How embarrassing I wanted to slide under a rock, however I scooted the two "angels" out of the salon and into the car. In the car I gave them their second complete lecture of the day on kindness and the famous rules, behavior and expectations speech. The child called their auntie and apologized. The Auntie graciously forgave the child and told the child that next time they would have a consultation about what the child was expecting for a cut (bless you Emily I love you). It was only about 2:45 and I was already loosing my mind. My sister-in-law had offered a massage and I knew that the option of bringing my children at this point was out of the question and I was loosing hope quickly. But what happened next was nothing short of a miracle.....my husband walked through the door a couple of hours early and suggested I take the rest of the evening for myself (did I mention how much I love this man).

Why am I sharing this truly humiliating day with you? It all boils down to my prayer time before falling asleep. I was thanking God for my children and then praying for the next day and that it would be smoother when the next series of thoughts came into my head. God reminded me about His Grace and His Love. He reminded me that I myself have No Good, Rotten, Very Bad Days. Days that I wake up grouchy and totally fail at my job as a mom/wife but also at my job of being a child of God. Then I started to think about how God feels on these days. I am sure he wants to smack me up side the head but instead he offers me His Love, His Forgiveness and His Grace. Instead he gives me a chance at a do over. He wipes my slate clean and allows me to go on. In all of this I need to remember that my kids are going to have bad days as well and there will not always be a strong reason for it other than they are just having bad days. It is my job to teach them about Grace by offering it to them.

I learn so much form my job as MOM. I learn so much from it I can't imagine what I would be missing if I wasn't one. Sure I might be a bit saner at times but I would be a whole lot emptier in a lot of ways.

And by the way we had an absolutely fabulous day today and not because my children were perfect angels, although they were very good. But because I went into my day with a different outlook and realizing I am not much different than those two. I am a child of God just as they are which means I am broken, imperfect and a work in progress as well.

My Husband Thinks He Drives A Big Truck.....

My husband has been known to haul giant items in his compact automobile. You see we do not own a pickup truck, we have access to borrowing a couple but they aren't always available right when he needs them. And that fact that we are in in the middle of a remodel does not always provide time for patience.

Last Monday in the cold wind and rain and hail my husband decided to start on the dining room addition. (Dining Room Addition sounds so fancy and it really isn't that fancy, although I am proud that my husband has the skills to make the project happen. And the idea of having a couple hundred extra square feet is really exciting to me.) The framing process is started and in a few weeks we should have the exterior of the room completed. After that I am praying for a nice warm weekend to re-side the house. Bye Bye nasty, cracking, faded vinyl and hello Hardi Plank. Things are moving maybe not so fast but they are moving:)

Hope you enjoy the hilarious picture of my husbands compact pickup truck. This will not be the last time he loads it up like this. Last week he had a huge popcorn maker and neon sign for work in there. Not sure how he has room once the car is loaded up but he manages. The other pictures are of the progress. This is the only time I will ask you to disregard the enormous piles of construction clutter. We do not have a garage so it gets moved from covered area to covered area for now.

The picture of the wall with the mirror on it is to show the wall that will come
out to make an opening for the new dining room. Many have asked for us to explain how we will get into the new room and this is how. I can't wait for the demo part of the job it should be fun!

More updates to come:)

Easter Eggs and Such...

Coloring Easter Eggs is not usually an activity I do with my children. Typically my mom does this with the kids. But she couldn't this year and I didn't have the heart to skip the activity. I generally find this activity to be a bit stressful and messy which is unlike me, I think it has something to do with the permanent dye that doesn't come out of anything. However, we had so much fun and it was so neat to see that both kids were fully capable to color their own eggs without making a giant mess:)
I think we will hide them tomorrow though so that Sunday can be saved to celebrate the real reason behind Easter. This should be fun and maybe I will get some more pictures.