broiled sloppy jeneva's

It's 'Foody Friday' again. The theme is SIMPLE! This is a recipe for Sloppy Joes. We call them "Sloppy Jeneva's" at our house. Gee, I wonder why. These are super easy and the best tasting "joe" recipe I've found. Click here for more simple recipes.

Broiled Sloppy Jeneva's

Brown together:
1 lb. hamburger
1 onion chopped
Add:
3/4 can tomato soup
1 tbsp. ranch dressing
1/2 lb. Velveeta (cubed)
1 tsp. worchestershire sauce

Cook until cheese is melted.
Spoon on to open faced hamburger buns and toast in the oven until edges are crispy. About 12 minutes.

Enjoy! My family loves these and they are super easy!

caught again!

what is up with my kids falling asleep in such unusual places?

memorial day trip to the zoo

a girl named emma

I don't have anything to post today because I haven't uploaded our pictures of Steve's 30th birthday or of our trip to the zoo on Memorial Day.......soooooo.......if you want to be entertained for a few moments, read Emma's post. She's a 14 year old girl who I know from church who has really cool parents (good bloggers I might add) and I think she's pretty much a hoot.

look at my "new" dresser!

While shopping at Hidden Treasures Thrift Store the other day, we found a real treasure! We have been needing storage that fits into the half story top of our house (AKA the kids domain). It fits perfectly! Jude is already complaining about the pink... so we put it on Jeneva's side of the room. It now contains clothes, toys, and games. If you live in the Twin Cities, you should check out this store in St. Anthony. I am a fan of thrift stores and consignment shops and this one definitely tops the list. Best of all is that 100% of the profits go to support the missionaries from our church!

gas prices...

Read what Shari saw today. It made me chuckle. I just might start doing the same thing (except that I would hit up Costco not Sams Club:)

a recipe for homemade band-aids

Okay, I hope you're not sick of "Jeneva conversations." She's been full of them lately! So, yesterday evening we were at Target buying band-aids. Jeneva picked out some Hello Kitty ones. Of course. As we were taking them off of the shelf I made a comment to myself about how they were even on sale. Jeneva then said "What!? They're on sale? SWEET!" I guess she gets just as excited about a sale as I do! As we were walking to the check-out our conversation went something like this:

J: Do you know how band-aids are made, Mom?

Me: No idea.

J: But mom, you know how to make EVERYTHING! (ego boost....score!)

Me: Interesting that you think so, hon.

J: Well, I think I know how you make band-aids. First you get some wax paper. Then you get some sticky stuff like glue and you put it together. Then you find an artist and have them paint stuff on the band-aids....like Hello Kitty and Sponge Bob. Except that we don't watch Sponge Bob, but some people so, so they need band-aid's with Sponge Bob on them. We just get the Hello Kitty ones because Hello Kitty is good, right mom?

Me: Yes, Jeneva, I think you are just right.

are you allergic to your relatives?

Jeneva: Mom, I'm allergic to you. I'm allergic to Jude. I'm allergic to Papa.

Me: What do you mean?

Jeneva: You know, we're all in the same family and stuff.

Me: You mean we are related?

Jeneva: Oh yeah, I guess I just got my words mixed up.

ramblings

This evening at the dinner table:

Jeneva: I wished that I could live in Indiana. No, I mean Africa. Well, I can't remember, it's either Indiana or Africa that I want to live in.

Steve: Hu?

Jeneva: Well, in Indiana (or is it Africa?) it's really hot ALL of the time. And if I lived there I could pick bananas and eat them whenever I wanted to....hey look the neighbors have army pants hanging on their clothes line!

danger, risk, do-it-yourself

This is the Stutzman/Dykstra way of doing things. That is Steve and my dad putting up siding. The tallest ladder was wooden and way too wobbly. So glad the job was finished with no one harmed!

my wee bro

It's Matt. He's the youngest. He's still cool. He's a college kid. He still gets to enjoy 'spring breaks' and 'summer vacations.' He lives in Virginia. We miss him! While in Iowa this past weekend we went to my cousins high school graduation. He graduated from Iowa Mennonite just like we did. While we were there, Matt was trying to place people who may have been in my class. Since he's 9 years younger, he doesn't know too many that were in my class. Everyone he mentioned was still younger than me. "Man, you ARE old!" He finally said. He has just entered his 20's. I have a couple of months left and will be exiting my 20's. I actually am happy to be turning 30. Maybe I have a bit more maturity than when I was 20. No offense, Matt. You really ARE mature for your age. :)

fast asleep...

...in unusual places.

jude's dedication

Last night we had Jude dedicated at our church. I want to list the dedication questions that were asked of the parents during the service to which we responded "I do."

1. Do you recognize these children as the gifts of God and give heartfelt thanks for God's blessing? 2. Do you now dedicate your children to the Lord who gave them to you all, surrendering all worldly claims upon their lives in the hope that they will belong wholly to God? 3. Do you pledge as parents that, with God's fatherly help, you will bring up your children in the discipline and instruction of the Lord, making every reasonable effort, with patience and love, to build the word of God, the character of Christ and the joy of the Lord into their lives? 4. Do you promise to provide, through God's blessing, for the physical, emotional, intellectual and spiritual needs of your children, looking to your own Heavenly Father for the wisdom, love and strength to serve them and not use them? 5. Do you promise, God helping you, to make it your regular prayer that by God's grace your children will come to trust in Jesus Christ alone for the forgiveness of their sins and for the fulfillment of all his promises to them, even eternal life, and in this faith follow Jesus as Lord and obey his teachings?

Sometimes events like a child dedication or a baptism can be done ritualistically or thought of as a formality. Bethlehem is so big on meaning and intentionality and as I re-write and read these words, I am challenged once again. Hearing pastor David Michael, with his hand placed on the back of Jude's head while looking him in the eye, saying "Jude, together with your parents who love you dearly and this people who care about the outcome of your faith, I dedicate you to God, surrendering together with them all worldly claim upon your life in the hope that you will belong wholly to the Lord, forever." Then the body of Christ, some close family, some dear friends, some folks we sort of know, and some people we don't know at all say "I do." It's not a formality. It's not a ritual. There's meaning and purpose in it. The body of Christ truly cares about the outcome of my child's faith. Thank you, Jesus.

Parent's dedicating their children always receive a red rose during the church service. Another thing that our church does is have a vase filled with white roses for those who experience grief during Mother's Day. It is a way to recognize not only those who have children living, but those who have lost children or even family members. Click here to read my friend Jenna's entry about some people she talked to with white roses.

Today I am thankful. I'm thankful for two children. I am thankful that the Lord has spared me this far from losing any children. I am thankful for family and friends who care about the outcome of my children's faith. I am thankful for MY mom. I am thankful for my mom's mom and my dad's mom. I can honestly say (eek, I hate to admit it) that Mother's Day didn't carry as much meaning for me until I became a mom. Maybe I was blinded or somewhat insensitive. It's because I am able to love and appreciate so much more the women in my life because I understand more.

farm animals by jeneva

I love these books! It's a great way to teach kids how to draw simple animals. I didn't get the artistic gene that some of my family members have, so I need to rely on books like this to help me. I used these when I taught Kindergarten. I'm not a big fan of cut and paste projects that all look the same. With this, even though they show you exactly how to draw the animals, every child's drawing ends up looking so unique. Happy artistry!

foody friday

This is the best homemade Thai dish EVER....and it's sooo simple! My friend Megan created it one day and brought it to us to taste. Steve has asked me to make it several times since then and we've made it for company twice.

(this is the kind of green curry that I use)

1 Rotisserie Chicken cut up (I use almost the whole chicken)

2 cans of Green Curry (found in Asian section at Cub)

1 can of Coconut Milk (also found in Asian section)

2 carrots diced and cooked

3 potatoes diced and cooked

2 cups of cooked green beans (best if fresh)

2 cups of frozen snow peas

Mushrooms quartered

Put all together in a crock pot and heat for a few hours or put in a big pot on the stove and heat thoroughly.

Serve over rice.

This is really good and definitely has kick/heat to it!

Enjoy!

go to a-latte-talk for more spicy international recipes today.

left over popsicles from LAST year

They were kinda gooey and slimy. This is what our Monday's kinda look like. Three 4 year olds and a baby get me plenty of sympathy looks at the park.

foody friday #3

It's Foody Friday. I don't have time to post now, but head on over to Jenny's blog and check out the YUMMMMY desserts.

this is jeneva.

This is what Jeneva's feet look like on days like this.

This is Jeneva's updated top ten list. The old top ten has gone by the wayside this season.

1. Digging in the dirt.
2. Mixing water with dirt.
3. Playing with the mud.
4. Transferring dirt from one side of the yard to the other.
5. Getting dirt under her nails.
6. Sloshing in mud.
7. "Planting" sticks and rocks and leaves.
8. Planting things that actually will grow.
9. Do you get the point?
10. Spraying the stain remover on the soiled clothes.