Thoughtful Thursdays - The Death of Distance

This past weekend the family took a trip to OKC to visit Mr. D's side of the family and it got me thinking about something I learned in college.... The Death of Distance.

The death of distance refers to the gap technology has filled for people who live far away from each other.  This technology ranges from the social networking sites (facebook/twitter), to video chatting, to the invention of fast flying airplanes.  Before these inventions, one had to travel by ship, horse, and had no communication other than what we consider today as 'snail mail'.  If you wanted to move out West, the trip took months in a wagon train.  Today you can move across the world in a matter of hours or days.  Most generations stayed in one town or one state and usually one country where as today there are people from everywhere found just anywhere on the globe.  I can video chat with my mother in KY and then just as easily chat with my BFF in Japan.  Through FB I talk to friends from my past who I probably would never keep in contact with if I didn't have FB.  In my lifetime I have lived in three different states spanning across the entire United States, and have studied abroad in Europe.  I was young, independent, motivated, and free spirited; but was I also missing something?

Me at Stonehenge

With these advances in technology people are able to live far away from family and friends and still keep in contact on a daily basis.... but..... is that enough?  Are we losing the human connection by replacing the real person with technology?  

Having lived away from my family now for about 10 years I can say that while I missed my family I always felt okay about moving and living my life how I wanted, with out loyalty to the place where I grew up.  But now that I have kids things have changed.  The perception of 'place' has changed for me.  I'm no longer interested in the biggest cities and cool things to do, but more about who I'm surrounded by.  In a sense you could say I would like a 'village' for my children, a group of people to surround my family.

Our latest move from TX to WA

This weekend being back in a city that might not have the most glamour, but has friends and family who love and support my family, it got me thinking about if the 'death of distance' is enough emotionally for people.  We have met people here in WA who live away from family and they go back and visit every few years.... and I just can't imagine doing that.  I go back to KY about 3-4 times a year and Mr. D goes back to OKC about 3-5 times a year.  Are we the only ones out there who can't rely on new technologies as a replacement for the real thing?  Yes I can see my mom on skype.... but is that the same as living 10 mins from her?  Yes we can fly to OKC to visit friends and families, but is that the same as living there?  I'm not knocking technology by any means.... I couldn't have made it through Mr. D's deployments with out skype.  So thank goodness for technology!!

Skype Date with Mr. D in Afghanistan

I want to know if people living away from their villages some how has a lasting emotional effect on them and their families.  Would we all be happier if we lived within 20 miles of our families?  Or is chasing the American dream and where ever that leads us.... does that make us the happiest, the most full filled emotionally?  

Are we as connected as ever through social networking and video chats?  Or do we feel as lonely as ever and these outlets are just a bandaid over our emotional wounds?

Just wondering how everyone else felt about this....

What's for Dinner Wednesdays - Meatloaf

Meatloaf:  My family LOVES this stuff and it is so super easy to make!

This is how I make it but feel free to add or subtract ingredients to your family's liking.

Ingredients:

1 egg

1 cup oats

1/4 cup ranch dressing

1/4 cup BBQ sauce of your liking

1/2 onion diced

1/2 green pepper

1 lb ground beef

Ketchup

Mix all ingredients together except for the ketchup in a mixing bowl then spread it out in a casserole dish.  I guessed at the amounts since I hardly never measure when it comes to cooking.  But when all mixed together it should look something like this.....

Top with ketchup...

Bake at 350 for about 40-45 mins.  Done!!!!

We made ours with fresh peas and made from scratch mashed potatoes.

ET joined us at the dinner table for the first time :)

What's for Dinner Wednesday - Baked Salmon

This is my own recipe for Baked Salmon... I like mine really sweet not smoked, so if you have a sweet tooth like me you will really enjoy this salmon!

Ingredients:

Filet of Salmon .6-1.2 lbs

Honey

Brown Sugar

Bread Crumbs

Olive Oil

Take a cookie sheet and line it with foil.

On the foil drizzle EVOO so the fish doesn't stick to it.

On top of the filet add brown sugar first, rub it into the fish.

Then drizzle honey on top.  The brown sugar should keep the honey on the fish instead of running off.

(If the honey runs off the fish it has a better chance of burning in the oven so try to keep it only on the fish)

Then top with bread crumbs.  Your salmon should look like this.

Pop into a 350 oven for about 15-25 mins depending on the thickness of the fish.  This one cooked for 22 mins.

Your salmon is finished!!!!

We paired ours with rice and fresh steamed veggies (squash and zucchini).

Enjoy!!!!!!

Tuesday Book of the Week

Before KJ left for Texas she picked out her last book of the week, and I have to say it was a favorite for all of us....

check out this book!

This book is a series of short stories about a family of lovable bunnies, a couple of goats who always cause problems, and a bear who always seems to know what to do!!!  The stories are super cute and the pictures funny and entertaining.  KJ read it over and over again until we had to take it back to the library, then she made me pinky promise I would use it for the book of the week :)

Mother's Day 2012!!!!

This week I have been taking the week off blogging because it is our first week since school has ended and the last week we have KJ here before she travels to Texas for her summer visitation.  So I have been soaking up lots of bonding time with her before she leaves.  But I had to post some pics from this past Sunday which was Mother's Day.

Mr. D asked me what I wanted for Mother's Day and I knew right away what I wanted.  Pictures with my children!  Since I'm the photographer of the family I never get to have good pictures with me actually in them.  The pictures are always of the kids or Mr. D with the kids.  So I forced my husband who knows nothing about photography or my camera to take pics of us.  I have to say he did an amazing job and I might just have to make this a new Mother's Day tradition!!!!!!!!  Enjoy pics of me and the kiddos :)

Lesson Plan Monday - End of the Year K Assessments

Last week KJ wrote her own play as an end of the year project.... below is the video of her play and award ceremony.  We have been doing our assessments these past few weeks and are now completely done with Kindergarten!!!!

In the state of WA they don't start testing home schoolers until age 8... and since I wrote her curriculum I had to do some searching online for end of the year assessments.  Here are links to some of the assessments we used :)

Writing

Math

Social Studies

Reading

General K

Free Write Friday!!! Many faces of KJ

KJ LOVES to take pictures with my old point and shoot.  If she has down time and doesn't want to color or read she always gets out the camera and just takes all kinds of pictures.  Last time I uploaded  there were over 100 of just her taking completely random pics.  Then she asked me if she could have a photography blog so she could post all the pictures she has been taking.  I told her she couldn't have a blog yet, but I thought these self portraits of her were too funny not to share :)

The many faces of KJ....

Thoughtful Thursdays - Giving Thanks

Originally I was going to get on here and let off some steam about some personal stuff.... Money, career changes, a possible move to only God knows where..... but instead I would like to sit back and look at the life I'm living and just give thanks.  

I watched a moving video on Godvine this morning and it just made me take a look at how blessed I am in my life.  Yes I'm stressed about money, but at least we have a home to live in and food to eat.  I have two beautiful completely healthy kids.  I am able to stay at home with my children instead of sending them to daycare or school.  I have a Godly husband who loves me more than sometimes I love myself.  I have family and friends across this globe who inspire and encourage me.  God has blessed me with uncountable goodness and it just felt wrong to get on here and complain to the world.

I do believe most people could find something (if not a few things) to complain about.  Things that stress us out on a daily basis and make us forget what is important.  I feel like the blessings we get from God are like plants that need to be nurtured and if they are forgotten about they might slip away from us.  So I have compiled a list of things to do today to show God that I'm truly thankful for all the blessings he has given me.

1. Pray and give God the heartfelt thanks for the life he is letting me lead.
2. While the kids are still asleep, I'll write an email to my husband letting him know my love and appreciation for him and all he does for us, because he is a blessing to me and our children, and I'm so thankful for him.
3. Today, when the kids are awake I will leave the cell phone out of my hand, and the computer off my lap.  My lap can be filled with my baby boy, and my hand will be free to hold my daughter's.  My children are a blessing that fills me with more love than I ever thought possible and I'm thankful for them.
4. I will clean the house today with a smile on my face!  I have been blessed with a place to live and I will take care of it with joy because this is a blessing for our entire family and I'm thankful for the privilege to clean it.
5. I promise to laugh until I cry today, because laughter is a blessing that can melt stress away, and I am thankful for the laughter God puts in my life.
6. I will hum and sing today, my voice of praise is a blessing to God's ears, a small way I can give back some praise to our Lord, I'm thankful to have a song in my heart.
7. I will let my actions pour out love and kindness for everything I endeavor to do today.  My physical ability to do anything is a blessing, and I'm thankful for a healthy body.
8. When things get stressful, I will close my eyes, pray for patience, and thank God for all the amazing blessings I don't deserve.
9. Today, I will be more open to see the small blessings that I constantly take for granted.  When I discover a new blessing, I will stop and give thanks. (Thank you for the sunshine in WA this morning!!!)
10. Today I will tell my children again about Jesus, his life, and his love for us.  During school today I want KJ to list out what she is thankful for in her life to help her see the blessings too.  Together as a family I hope and pray we can bring Glory and Honor to our Lord through our thoughts, prayers, and actions.

Try a few or all of these with me today and lets see how our Thankful Hearts will turn into Happy Hearts (thanks veggie tales!), and hopefully we will all be a little less stressed tomorrow!!

and yes.... I know I put 'your' instead of 'you're'.... I have a newborn, I'm not working on all cylinders!!!

What's for Dinner Wednesday - White Chicken Enchiladas

Today we are making White Chicken Enchiladas!  This recipe is from a friend at church... so I can't take credit for it... but this is by far my favorite enchilada recipe I have found.  Even my picky eater KJ likes it :)

Ingredients:

10 soft taco shells

2 cups cooked shredded chicken

2 cups shredded monterey jack cheese

3 tbsp butter

3 tbsp flour

2 cups chicken broth

1 cup sour cream

1 4oz can diced green chillies

Pre heat oven to 350, and grease a 9x13 pan.

Mix chicken with 1 cup of the cheese and roll in the taco shells.  Place in the pan.

In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in the flour and broth.  Stir and cook for 1 min.

Add chillies and last the sour cream.  Heat but do not boil!  Sauce only takes about 2 mins to make.

Pour sauce over the enchiladas.

Top with the second cup of cheese.

Pop in the oven and bake for 22 mins.  Then broil on high for 3 mins to brown the cheese.

Finished White Chicken Enchiladas!!!!

We served it with Spanish rice, so yummy!!!!!! Enjoy!!!