Weekend Update

Be faithful in the small things

because it is in them that your strength lies.

~Mother Theresa~

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Hey, everyone, how are you all doing? I love this quote of the day! I totally agree; those seemingly small things are where a person's character really shines through. My song for the day, Baby I Love Your Ways (Inner Circle), I dedicate to my incredible husband who is a constant blessing in my life, even 23 years after we first became 'we'.

(Note: To listen to this music, disable current background music

by clicking 'pause' on the music player in your right sidebar,

then click on the pic below.)

Are you ready for my weekend update? I'll backtrack to Thursday.

Thursday was Courtney's special day. Our day started out pretty normally, she got a little 'giftie' from Mommy, and later I took her out for dinner and some good talk-time. Just sitting and listening to my lil Nerns it's always the same thing with me, I end up feeling so proud of her and I walk away beaming. That is one deeeep girl, let me tell ya!

Friday morning, we did our regular morning chores and Bible time, baked a little bread, polished the nest, etc. Then, after I got Scotty, Courtney, and Chloe' going on their schoolwork, Carissa and I took off together for a day of shopping and lunching. Carissa is literally years ahead in school, so she can afford a day off here and there. We had a wonderful time together, I and my sweet girl.

Friday night was date night, so Justin and I took off and had a relaxing dinner together. We had delicious salads at a nearby restaurant and talked for a good, long time. Husband was tired from an especially draining week at work, so we headed for home so I could tuck him in a little earlier than is his norm for a Friday night. Later, I ran out the door with my boy, Scotty, to take him to see the late showing of Alice and Wonderland (in 3-D of course!). He loved it, and even I liked it as much the second time around.

Saturday, we all slept in and took the morning slowly. It was cute seeing all the kids in their jammies til almost noon. I love easy days. Then Husband and I went out for a semi-late lunch at our new favorite Chinese restaurant. I was especially wanting to have their soup, which is amazing!

When we returned home, Justin ran out the door with the boy to do 'guy errands'. The girls and I hit the kitchen and had a total blast cooking together! It was great! We had the music cranked and we put together several yummy things. We made my famous Bruschetta (tomatoes, red, yellow, and orange peppers, onions, garlic, basil, etc) which is one of my favorite staples these days to have on hand for my lunches ... the girls baked a German chocolate cake... and we made our latest 'test drive' recipes for dinner.

The girls working in the kitchen

My post is already pretty long, so I'll make my foodie update as brief as possible.

We're on day six of seven of our 'Claire Robinson's 5 ingredient Fix test drive'. Saturday was Claire's Bacon and Blue Cheese Stuffed Chicken Breasts, and also her Creamy Roasted Broccoli.

Visual aids

So, really quickly... Both of these recipes were da bomb! In all fairness, though, I must tell you I changed the chicken recipe in just one way. Instead of using Blue Cheese, which can be quite pungent, I used Feta, which my whole family loves. The Feta was rich, tangy and creamy, and went perfectly with this chicken recipe. But it really is a matter of preference. The broccoli recipe was delicious, and I'll be doing it again next time we have broccoli... which will hopefully be soon! The chicken was amazing! Try it! We added a little of the reserved cheese spread to the top just before serving, and all I can say is YUM! Make this one, guys! It's a must!

That's all for now, dahlings.

More later ...