Valentine's Picture Frame Craft

Something I have been thinking a lot about lately is how to put more creative energy into my marriage. I want to continue to fall in love with John and have fun doing it. I recently ran across a blog that is very encouraging on this front called Today's Letters. They have some very practical suggestions about how to continue to pursue one another.

Onto the picture frame. Yesterday I did something food related, so today I wanted to do something crafty. And I decided to take pictures of it and give instructions, because that is what I do with a blog. So here it is - a Valentine's Day Picture Frame.

I made a version of this years ago as a gift for John, and yesterday when I had all of these

sitting on the counter after making Peanut Butter Blossoms, I decided that I should make a Valentine's version. I already had the Valentine themed Hugs, because I am a sucker for holiday themed candy. Especially Peanut M and M's Bunny Mix, but that is another story.

So here is what you need to make this little project, which I completed in about an hour.

Hershey's Hugs and Kisses, some kind of Mod Podge and a picture frame. (also a paint brush and scissors can come in handy but are not strictly necessary) You may not even need to buy a picture frame if you can go somewhere in your house and find this.

A box full of picture frames that have yet to find a home in your new home. Maybe I have too many. Very possibly. That said, I didn't need to go buy one. Next step is to take out the glass from your frame.

Smooth out your candy wrappers by rubbing your fingers across them on the table.

Arrange your wrappers all over your frame to get an idea of how many you will need and where you want them.

Start spreading Mod Podge where you want to start sticking your wrappers. A little at a time is the best way to go, because it dries quickly.

Overlap your wrappers and spread Mod Podge over, under and around them to seal them to the frame and each other.

Once that is done, you get to start adding the little banners that say "Hugs" and "Kisses," which you also cover in Mod Podge.

As it was all drying, I trimmed the excess from the edges so it would look less messy.

And, Ta-Da!, quick, seasonal fun! Side note - this is one of our engagement pictures that was taken by Luke Davis. At the time, he was just a friend of ours from college. Now, he is our brother-in-law. Awesome.

In other, completely unrelated news, Lily rocked pigtails today that she was really excited about.

Happy Love Month!

Ode to Food Co-Op and How it Changed My Life Forever

Food Co-Op. What a life-saving, wonderful thing. "What is it?" you may ask. Well, let me tell you. It is the best thing that ever happened for my meal planning. Imagine this - you cook one night, and on two other nights, meals magically appear at your door born in the arms of a smiling friend.

The smiling friends in this photo make up my first food co-op: Allison and Courtney (and me). I say "first," because one has moved and the other is moving. (moment of silence . . .) Moving on, though it is hard for me, I know that others will join me in this endeavor, in fact, someone else already has - thanks, Lindsay!

Here's the deal. There are three families in my food co-cop, and we all live within about 1 1/2 miles of one another. This proximity is essential. On Monday nights, Allison made dinners. She would make enough for her family, and then deliver meals to my family and Courtney's. On Wednesday, I would make dinner and deliver to Allison and Courtney, and on Thursday, it was Courtney's turn to make dinner and make the rounds. We just email each other at the beginning of the week to double check if all the days will work that week, and it can be as flexible as needed.

What a blessing this has been. On the days when food is coming, I can comfortably spend time with my children or pursue other projects knowing that food will be headed our way between 5:30 and 5:45. On the days when I cook, I get to try new things and make more of what I am making, which usually makes the food budget go farther. It is always cheaper and easier to make more of one thing than to make several smaller things.

Here is a picture journey of what I usually do on my food co-op night. I make a menu to include with the meals, so everything can be identified. (Note, I wanted to photograph the menu that I didn't screw up the spelling of "Peanut Butter Blossoms," however, I managed to misspell and have to correct it on both.)

I made dinner - a yummy Chicken Florentine Lasagna that I will include a recipe for in another post. Then I separated out family size portions for the other families into Gladware/Ziploc containers. I now have a massive collection, and we rotate it constantly between the houses. Here's the Caesar Salad.

And the bread, ready to be wrapped in foil.

The lasagna, ready to go.

And I always include a dessert. Tonight it was the Peanut Butter Blossoms.

As I have done this for over a year and a half, I have learned tricks to make this easier. I try to never go super-overboard on a meal. By this, I mean I would rarely make everything from scratch. If I make something like the lasagna that is a little more involved, I would balance that by buying the rolls, instead of making them. This helps it all come together a bit simpler. I set out my Gladware earlier in the afternoon, so I am not scrambling for it when it is time to go. Here's the food, all ready to go do its work and feed families.

Then, just bag it up. No diggity. No doubt. (Target paid me to use their bag.)

Basically, I have gotten very spoiled. Now that I have tasted the sweetness of the co-op, I don't think I can ever go back. Not only do you get excellent food delivered to you two nights a week, you get to develop deeper friendships and knit your life just a little closer with those around you. In delivering food, you get to deliver a little love and sanity to someone you care about. These girls made my life better every week with their homemade dinners. Thanks, Allison and Courtney - you will be missed more than you know.

Since Allison is only moving to Cabot, I have been inspired to continue trading freezer meals with her and others who don't live within a mile of me. (What a world it would be if all my friends lived within a mile of me.) Here's to sharing food in the future!

Sometimes We are Stuck

Well, I realize that I will probably not be blogging every day in my future. However, for now, I feel like I have a lot to say and blog about, so I will continue the roll that I am on. Today I have been pondering cheerful things like sin and darkness. We are born sinners. Even this precious 3 month old is a sinner.

Gosh, even as I type that, I think, "She is so sweet. She probably won't be that bad ever." Sadly, I do not think this of my older daughter, but that is because we have had longer with her to see her sin nature in full effect. And it is not about how sweet my daughters can be, and for the record, Lily is such a sweet child so much of the time. I went to my Moms N More group at Fellowship today, and we talked about Romans 8. There is a battle inside of us between sin and darkness and light, life and peace that we are born with, because we are humans and live in a fallen world. We are going through a new study called STUCK, by Jennie Allen.

It is very engaging, and I am so thankful for the God that sets us free. I don't want to be stuck in the places that are ugly on my insides. I want more freedom in Christ and to reflect Him more each day.

In other, completely unrelated news, I am finally getting around to really organizing and decorating my craft room. At the old house, I had a craft closet that was well organized, and here, I have the extreme privilege and blessing of having an entire craft room (that also doubles as a second guest bedroom.) I am posting the "BEFORE" pictures, because I want even more motivation to get it done. I currently have great hopes of painting it lavender and possibly even a plaid wall. I have searched for any tutorials on how to do one and have not found anything that resembles what I want, so I think I will be making it up as I go. Anyway, here are the pics. I did not stage it to look this messy to have a better "Before" picture. It really is that messy from Christmas and birthday carnage, and I can live like that because it is all the way downstairs with a shut door. But I want it to be usable and pretty. And hopefully somewhat soon.

Siloam Weekend and Super Easy Crock Pot Pork Chops

This weekend we went to Siloam Springs to see Ellen and Luke and my Mom and her fiance Wes. They got their engagement pictures taken by Luke, and we had Lily's two year and Bella's 3 month pictures taken. Next time I go for pictures, I am going to have someone take pictures of us trying to get a 3 month old and two year old to cooperate and look pleasant. Good thing Uncle Luke is awesome with children - can't wait to see the pics. We had a great time hanging out with Nana and Papa as well, and it again makes me wish that I had family closer.

When we get together we often play lots of games. The game of choice this weekend was Blokus, which only got old when Luke kept winning. Seriously, almost every game. Good thing he is nice. If you have never played this game, it is worth a shot. Good times.

While we were there we also made Crock Pot Pork Chops with a recipe courtesy of our step-father-to-be himself, Wes. These are super easy, and while not a gourmet treat by any means, it makes a serviceable, filling, yummy dinner that is ready quickly with few ingredients. Sounds perfect when you have a lot of other things you want to do. (like start a new blog.) (Disclaimer- I am just learning how to blog and take pictures of stuff for a blog, so anyone reading this will have to bear with me through the learning process.)

Start with 2-3 butterfly pork chops and trim the fat off of them. We also chose to cut them in half to save time when they were done.

Mix 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 teaspoon Onion Powder and 1/2 teaspoon of dried mustard.

Do not be surprised when your daughter who is sitting precariously on the counter stacks all of the ingredients.

Coat your pork chops in the flour mixture and brown in olive oil over medium high heat. It takes just a couple of minutes per side.

Put your pork chops into your crock pot and pour two cans of Chicken and Rice soup over them.

Turn crackpot to low and cook for 7 hours. Or, we did them on high for 3 1/2 hours, which also worked well. Such an easy meal when served with a salad and bread and the delicious chocolate chip pound cake that Ellen made. This is where I should insert the picture of the finished product that I didn't take. Instead, I will insert a picture of Bella, because I think she is darling.

As we were leaving this morning, escaping the impending snow doom, I tried to get a picture of the girls with Luke and Ellen. This is how it went. Me: "Lily, let's take a picture with Ellen and Uncle Luke!" (said excitedly) Lily: "No, no, no, no, no." (said whinedly).

So I settled for a cute one of Uncle Luke and Aunt Ellen holding Bella. Thanks for a great weekend, family who are like friends!