random tips

So here's some things I would pin - but I already do them so I don't need to remember them on Pinterest.  (I'm not really all into pinning my own stuff yet)

Just helpful or whatever things that we Pierces do and love. 

Fun stuff in the garbage disposal.

I got into a real vinegar kick a while back.  I still use it for a lot of stuff - but one really fun thing I do sometimes is freeze it in ice cube trays, then throw the frozen vinegar cubes in the garbage disposal!  Turn it on with no water and it cleans out all the germs and odors that build up down there.  Also, my friend Katie said she does the same thing with orange peels and it freshens the smell of her entire kitchen.  I tried it the other night with some left over lemon peel and a cinnamon stick from a Hot Toddy - that worked too!  

Frozen pancakes and glass of water. 

I used to get frozen waffles for Savannah to eat for breakfast.  I mean, who REALLY wants to slave over a hot stove at 7am?  Then one day I realized I could just make my own waffles (which ended up being pancakes because they're easier) and freeze them myself.  So now once a week I whip up a batch of pancake mix (which includes flax seed, some kind of fruit, and usually some mini chocolate chips), cook it all up, and eat 2 that day and freeze the rest. Then in the morning I just pop one pancake in the microwave with a glass of water and nuke them for 1 minute.  With the water n there the pancakes are fluffy and light and not dry and chewy.  This has saved me so much effort! 

The Frame

This summer while I was at church one of the pastors was talking about how we should always remember to tell our children about all that God has done so that the next generation will know and be able to tell the stories.  I got this idea to get a frame and let Savannah decorate it in a way that would make it hers and exciting.  Then every week (or month, or when we get around to it) we put something new in the frame that tells about something God has done.  We started with "God Made Savannah" and I let Savannah color the words.  We've also had "God Made Poppy", "God Healed Daddy's Body" and all kinds of stuff.  We tell Sav the story of whatever it was and make sure she gets it.  Then we hang the frame at the top of our stairs at her eye level.  I try to talk to her about it at least once a day.  It's especially fun when she recounts stories of things God did before her time. 

This particular picture is about how Travis used to have crippling arthritis - like couldn't even get out of bed or write his name some days.  He was really sick and hurting really badly and God used doctors and medicine to perform miracles and heal him so now he can play and run with Savannah!  We are so thankful!

Memory Monday #5 Faith Comes

Here's one I think we've all been waiting for.  I skipped a few discouraging pages from the last post  and decided to move right ahead to the first entry I made with my new heart.

May 11th, 2000 (Just before graduation my senior year)

Dear Lord, 
Thank you God for all the blessings you give me daily.  Thank you for each morning I get up that I can be clean.  T/Y for my bed, for my food, for clothes to wear.  Please help me to be content with my life and not long for what others have.  T/Y for Franks and everything there and for letting me help there and please let me be the best servant I can be.  Please bless all my time there.  Please help all the bands that go through there to witness well and to focus on you.  Please be near the bands tomorrow and let your spirit pour on the kids there.  Let us all be at our best.  Help me to make wise choices that honor you.  Please direct  me in the path of your will.  Thanks for making a plan for me.  Show me what it is for this summer.  Please God, show me what to do.  I love you.  
Amen


At this point I'd been following Jesus about a year and a half.  I wish I had something from the days right after my salvation, but I don't know if I'd really learned to pray even until around this time.  I went to youth group, and to church, and hung out with Christians, but no one was really teaching me how to BE a Christian really until I went to Franks.  Franks was a music venue in Des Moines that brought in Christian bands.  The people that worked there started investing more time in me and showing me how to pray, how to serve, how to share.  So that's why I was so thankful.  I also realized as I read this that included in the bands I was praying for was Spoken - the band Travis was in.  This prayer was written the day before I met Travis for the first time.  Weird!  I guess the spirit WAS moving :)  Just a little early since I was still in high school and Travis was 21 at the time.  We didn't talk much that night.  


I'm so thankful for this entry and for it's stark contrast to my previous ones.  I'm also thankful to have these pages to remind myself of all that God has done.  I hope that if you keep a journal that you save it.  Might be one of the few things that I'd be down for keeping around in the attic year after year!  

i love lani and maggie

Savannah made up a song about what was on her heart tonight.  

Cousins. 

More Pinterest Wins and Fails

This seemed to be a super popular blog post last time.  I had all kinds of people ask for another one, so here ya go!  It probably won't be as exciting as last time, just saying: 

WIN!!

Easy Margarita Chicken

Super easy and super good.  I think the key to this was the lime. Make sure you have one on hand.  We  did not have actual margaritas with this meal (Travis is on a low card diet deal) but I would suggest it.  

FAIL!

Nutella Cookies

Just eggs and flour - they were really really gross.  I don't know what I was expecting.  If it seems to easy and good to be true, then it is.  Plus I wasted a 1/2 cup of Nutella! Don't do it! 

WIN!!!

Coffee maker Cleaner

Uh, DUH!  Why didn't I think of this?  

So I ran 1/4  cup of baking soda with a cup of water through the coffee pot (no filter) and the first time tons of gross stuff came out.  My pot actually looked like this one, but with chunks of something floating in it.  I don't know.  Then I ran just water through three more times until the water was totally clear.  And guess what - my coffee tastes better!  

WIN!!

Mail a Hug

For Christmas we got out some butcher paper and traced Savannah hugging it (she was actually face down hugging the paper, not like this kid just laying there).  We then had her decorate the paper with hair and eyes and stuff.  It was awesome.  Folded it up and mailed it to my Grandmas for Christmas.  They both live far away.  I'm hoping that they wrapped them selves up in the paper when they got them.  Easy and meaningful. 

FAIL!!

Mirror Spray Paint

I don't know if I'm doin wrong or what.  Probably am.  But Mirror spray paint was not in anyway nearly as cool as I thought it would be.  My stuff didn't turn out like this.  It was blotchy and runny and sad looking.  It only looks like a mirror if you spray the back side of something clear (so glass or vases or whatever) because if you spray the outside then it looks like a tin can.  And it's really hard to get it even.  So just skip it.  Not worth it. 

WIN!!

This really needs no explanation.  It's just true. Come on people - loosen up!

WIN!!

Crock Pot Enchilada Soup

This was amazing.  I actually threw it all in just 3 1/2 hours before dinner time AND the chicken was frozen solid when I started it. Add some avocado chunks to the top and Sold. 

So this post was a little less impressive than my last.  I've been busy doing my own thang apart from Pinterest. Plenty of spray painting, cutting hearts out of paper, and making old things work like new.  Here's my latest mantel goings on - 

Oh, you just wait till I get brave and get my sowing machine out!

and winter shows its ugly face

Winter's coldness finally bought up to us!  Here's the run down on how it's "blessed" us: 

I went out to go to a meeting last week and my car didn't start.  Dead battery.  Luckily my parents live super duper close so my dad came and charged the battery and my mom gave us rides to where we needed to go.  

We have all had awful versions of the same cold for about two weeks now.  Well Monday morning I saw Savannah had light yellow snot coming from her EAR.  It wasn't bothering her at all though.  I took her in to ever faithful Dr. Nau and we're on antibiotics and ear drops now.  I honestly thought with her tubes that we wouldn't have to deal with this junk this year.  But at least it's not hurting her. 

Savannah COULD NOT WAIT for it to snow enough for a snowman - but it still hasn't really.  Since I don't really love the snow, she had to wait until daddy came home to play in it two nights in a row!  They suited all up and lasted all of about 7 minutes out there.  

Gee winter - so glad you're here!  

But not really. 

Memory Monday #4

If you've been following along with my Memory Mondays, you already know I was pretty bratty.  This post is skipping ahead (past several years of selfishness, trying to fit in, and worry after worry about who thought what of me) to the summer before my Junior year.  This entry was just 3 months before I gave my life to Jesus and changed Eternity!

Auguest 18th, 1998
Douglas, 
Hey.  I'm so dumb.  I just watched this scary show and then this guy came to the door at 1am asking about some free chair in the yard and then the door blew operand now I'm paranoid!  Anywho - today was a crappy day.  I worked - people didn't show up so we were very short handed.  But yah, my parents bought a new couch today and that really bothers me for some reason.  I was so comfortable on the other one, and I would sit at work and think about how nice it was and I just want to go home and sink into that wonderful couch cause it meant home and security, but now it's going to the church to the youth room.  The youth room means lies and boredom, and selfishness to me.  All of the opposites of what the couch meant.  I'm sure my sure my parents will get good use out of the new one though.  I don't understand why I'm so grouchy to my dad either.  I wish he didn't try so hard at parenting.  I'm tired. Let's just hope the buggie man stays away!
- Wendlin. 


Here's my thoughts: My being afraid of the dark and of people has been a problem for a while.  Even now I cannot stay home alone at night. I worked as a life guard at the pool for 6 years. It was the best job ever.  You just sit all day, in the sun and bake.  Every so often you talk to some kids about what they're doing wrong and ONE time I saved a Mexican dude from the deep end.  I would love to have that job again, but there's something weird about a 30 year old life guard mom.  Don't ya think?  


I clearly remember my over reaction to my parent's getting ga new couch.  I really liked the old one I guess.  I think there must have been some crazy hormones flying around my head too - I FREAKED OUT.  Crying, yelling... sorry mom and dad for that!  I can say that from reading my other entries that I wasn't very comfortable anywhere.  I always felt awkward and like no one really cared.  I think it's really interesting though how I viewed church.  It was only a month after that I decided to call myself Agnostic.  I was really searching for something.  I was searching for the GOSPEL and I didn't even know it!  I hated that I wasn't comfortable anywhere and I even hated how I treated my own family.  Funny how God started showing me my need for a savior (not a couch like I thought) months before my salvation!  Love it.  Can't wait for the next post!

Any by the way, I had to edit this because while I was mulling this all over in my head today I remembered that I wanted to note just how glad I am that my dad (and mom too) were trying so hard to parent me.  I bet it was hard!  And not very rewarding at that time.  But I know now (all too well because of what I see in our high schoolers at church) that they were doing the best they could to be involved and love me and guide me through some pretty rough growing up years!  Love you Mom and Dad.  Thanks!

tv, toddlers, and too much to handle

Travis had Monday off to celebrate being black so he got to stay home with Savannah all morning while I did my normal Monday meeting stuff.  Turns out staying home with daddy means lots of "show watching" and a visit to the free bounce house, followed by getting candy at the gas station, and more tv.  At the end of the day I added up Savannah's tv time and she had watched over 7 hours of tv!  I pointed out to Travis that is was obvious by the glaze on her eyes and the stare on her face that she'd been over loaded, but I had to take this picture for future proof.  

We went to play pals the other day and some good friends, Katie and Eisley, just happened to have the same idea that day!  This is funny because Katie's pretty preggo but still getting in there to play with her kiddo.  Good job momma!

Savannah had me take this one earlier today.  She also asked me to dry her hair, open her lip gloss, get her dress down, and grab her umbrella for the picture.  Are we in trouble?  I may have let her go a little over board for a 9 am photo shoot in the kitchen.