Dinner for the busy mom

I want to share a recipe for dinner that was passed to me by my dear momma! It is great for that busy day where you don't know how you will fit dinner in. Enjoy my sweet friends....

Southwest Soup

2 lbs ground beef

1 onion

Minced garlic and salt and pepper to taste

1 can rotel

1 can beef broth

2 cans minestrone soup

3 cans ranch style beans

Brown meat, onion, garlic, salt and pepper.

Drain grease and put in big pot.

Add other ingredients and simmer for 25 min.

And dinner is done. Tonight I am going to make some corn bread to go with ours!

The moments of 2011

Is anyone else in disbelief that 2011 in only a few short days away from turning into 2012???
Over the last few weeks I have been thinking about the past year, about the ups and downs, about the moments of joy and the moments of sorrow and I decided to compose a blog entry documenting the moments of 2011 that I will never forget. Not all of them are happy moments, but each has impacted my life. Some have made me smile, others have made me laugh, and others have made me weep.

Undeniably the most amazing thing that we experienced in 2011 was the birth of our 3rd child and 2nd daughter...Brooklynn Ray Hilliard. She entered the world on March 25th early in the afternoon. She weighed 8 pounds 2 ounces and was 21 inches long. She had beautiful blue eyes and was(and still is) as bald as her daddy. She was breath taking. I love every inch of her little squishy body. On Christmas she will have spent 9 months in our lives and has completely captured everyone's heart. She is active, loud(something that runs in our family) and she fully intends on destroying anything the big kids leave where she can get it. She has separation anxiety and believes the best place to be is in mommas arms. I wake up every morning to her sweet talk and thank the Lord above for giving us such an amazing gift.


THE DALLAS MAVERICKS WIN THE NBA CHAMPIONSHIP!!! By far the best sports moment in 2011 and in sports history (followed very close by my sweet babies soccer games). I have dreamed of this moment ever since the tragic 2006 championship round against the Heat. I cheered, screamed, got frustrated, and yes, I shed a tear. It was an amazing moment to watch them get the trophy they have been working so hard to capture. I love my Dallas Mavericks!!



One of the greatest learning moments of 2011 happened when Preslee really began reading. She has been reading here and there for a year or so, but she finally had her "ah ha" moment where everything clicked. This took place right at the end of Kindergarten and around the time we had Brooklynn...so about March. It has been so sweet to sit and listen to her read and discover a whole new world with words and stories. It has also had its frustrating moments....such as not being able to spell things to Jason anymore in order to keep the kids from knowing what we are discussing. The joys of parenthood! It is a blessing to see your child grow and learn.

The most sorrow filled and tragic moment of 2011 for my family was the loss of my Uncle Butch. At the young age of 52 Marlin Wylie Lewis was taken from the Earth. He was the only son to my Grandmother and brother to 3 older sisters. He had 4 nieces and nephews and a hand full of great nieces and nephews. There are so many memories of my Uncle I could share with you in this blog, but one of my favorites has to be when I was a young girl. It was Christmas time and Uncle Butch always gave the best gifts. He loved the holidays and all the family being together. We were packed tight in my grandmothers house and it was time to open gifts the moment each of us kids had been waiting for all day. Uncle Butch handed me my gift and to this day I will always remember the beautiful pink boots that lay inside the box. I don't remember a lot of the gifts I was given as I child, but I will always remember those pink boots. Another favorite time of the year with my Uncle was the 4th of July....he dearly loved celebrating with the whole family. He spent hundreds of dollars on huge fireworks and made an amazing fire works display every year for our family. The fourth won't be the same without him. It will be a constant reminder of the loved one we have lost. While we can smile about the memories we once shared with him we are forever saddened by the loss of his life. Just last night my daughter and I were laying in bed chatting before she went to sleep and she looked at me and said, "I miss Uncle Butch." I looked at her and all I could say was, "I miss Uncle Butch, too." We spent a moment crying and then a long time sharing memories of our super great Uncle. Preslee shared that she loved how Uncle Butch was so funny and how he always made sure and tell her bye. Also she would never forget all the times he took all the kids out to see the cows on the mule. He was so very loved and is so very missed.

Best money spent in 2011 was on my Kindle. I must admit publicly that I was a huge skeptic of the new reading devices. I am a huge bookstore and book lover. I think there is nothing better than sitting down with a new book on a overstuffed chair with a cup of joe. I love the feel of a book in my hand and the fresh smell of a new book. I have to also admit though...my eyes have been open and my opinion changed. The purchase my Kindle has changed my life. I can't imagine not having it now. There is nothing better than having a new book the minute I want it. Some of you may not understand what it is like to live in a small town in the middle of nothing...you can't run and get a new book anytime you want...the Kindle has changed all that for me. Thank you amazon for bring the Kindle into my life.

My sweet Mom took Preslee, Spencer, and me on a fabulous trip to Sea World. It is a trip that I will always remember and cherish. We never know how long we have with our loved ones and it was so fabulous to get to spend time with my children and my momma. I loved the moments where I just got to sit back and watch my mom enjoy my children and my children enjoy my mom. I always say Grandmothers are mom's with extra frosting. The group of us spent 2 full days at Sea World. We experienced shows, water rides, regular rides, food, drinks, lots of walking, bathroom trips, and above all we got to see Shamu. It was an awesome experience and I am so thankful I was able to be apart of it. (A special thanks to my mother in law and husband for letting me go and watching my sweet baby).

My husband and and I shared our 9th anniversary in September of 2011. I am so grateful he has put up with me for 9 years. It was just the other day we were riding in the car and I said to him, "Did you ever feel the 7 year itch so many couples talk about?" He looked at me and said,"Who had time to feel the 7 year itch in our life." We have our hands full with 3 small children and a life of ministry. Praise God for each and every moment we have together. I can't even think of what my life would be without him. The picture below is from our first Christmas as a married couple. I love him so much more today then I did then.



I celebrated my last birthday before I turn 30. I am thankful to the Lord for allowing me 29 years on this Earth and for each and every blessing I have been given during this time. For my birthday this year my children made me a cake and banner. Both so sweet and thoughtful. I couldn't be more blessed.


All in all 2011 was another wonderful year. We have been blessed more than we deserve. I pray each of you have a very Merry Christmas. Full of worshiping our Lord and Savior. And may 2012 be full of many new blessings for each of us.

Thanksgiving

On this Thanksgiving eve I have so much to be thankful for. I am thankful first for the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross and for the salvation He has bestowed upon me. I am also abundantly grateful for family...they come in all shapes, sizes, and opinions. I have a husband who is always my rock...he isn't just always present in mine and my children's lives...he is always involved and active. He is a man of honor and a spiritual leader. I have 3 beautiful children. A mother who is my best friend, a father who is supportive, in-laws who are always willing to help, a brother who I wouldn't trade no matter how mean he is to me...oh,the list could go on for days. I am also thankful for my friends...most of them are family in my book. Each has been there and walked along beside me through life. They are encouragers, counselors...always honest. Life would be pretty dull without them. I am thankful for our church...the love and care they provide is priceless. So much more to be thankful for. I am truly blessed!!

Thanksgiving Prayer

Heavenly Father, on Thanksgiving Day
We bow our hearts to You and pray.
We give You thanks for all You've done
Especially for the gift of Jesus, Your Son.
For beauty in nature, Your glory we see
For joy and health, friends and family,
For daily provision, Your mercy and care
These are the blessings You graciously share.
So today we offer this response of praise
With a promise to follow You all of our days.

--Mary Fairchild

My husband is a Pastor...

I have been asked so many times..."what is your role as a pastor's wife?"...I finally put it into words....Enjoy.

The man that I am married to has received a Divine Call to provide care to a congregation by preaching The Word. He is to love them as Christ loves them. Shepherding a flock can be one of the most enriching, exciting, and satisfying duties a man can be appointed this side of Heaven. It is also a life work that exposes the man of God to multiple trails, deep disappointments and searing heartaches, all of which Jason and I have suffered in our time in the ministry. These things are nothing new in the life of a Pastor…they come with the job…as do celebrating in the joys and successes. The pastor serves God’s people as leader, preacher, teacher, counselor, overseer and chief intercessor. And in all of this, the pastor bears the unrelenting burden of his accountability to the Lord for the spiritual watchcare of a flock for whom the Good Shepherd laid down His own life. No one is either worthy or capable of such an undertaking alone….God has graciously provided my husband a human helper – a wife, to walk at his side as his covenant helper in the mission to shepherd the flock. I happen to be the very blessed woman who gets to stand beside him as his wife.

So where do I fit in? I am just what I stated above…his wife. I love him, raise his children, and try to provide a safe (though nowhere near neat) home. I rejoice in his love and honor and respect him. As Jason’s wife, I often keep my husband’s long hours, shoulder his pressures, feel his disappointments, and suffer his defeats—often as profoundly and as deeply as he does. I am thrust into the role of analyst of both his sermons and his administrative innovations. I may well be called upon to catch grammatical errors and to sniff out inconsistencies in his letters to the church, to befriend that woman in the assembly others may prefer to avoid and to brainstorm solutions to problems no one else can solve. I am often times the only human that can accurately evaluate my husband and help him navigate through the multitude of options…those that think there isn’t a single thing he can do wrong and those on the other hand who can’t find a single redeeming quality in him. My small simple words of encouragement keep him motivated to continue to spread the Gospel no matter the cost. I am one flesh with the pastor, yet I am not the pastor. I am simply a member of his flock.

What is my relationship to the congregation? I'm a member. As the pastor's wife, I am not employed by the church, but I do use my God-given gifts to serve in different areas of ministry. The things that I do in the congregation I do because I am a child of God and feel that God has given me gifts in certain areas so that I can serve there. However, I feel very strongly about my vocations as wife and mother…they come first…these roles are sacred and were given to me by God. I am serving God just as much in my home by raising Christian children as I am by serving anywhere in the church.

I love God, my husband, my children, and my church. I am a servant of Jesus Christ, Jason's wife, Preslee, Spencer, and Brooklynn's mommy, a homemaker, VBS director, nursery worker, etc. I embrace my husbands call to the ministry...we share this life together.

Trip to the circus...

I often compare my everyday life to that of a circus...So we decided we would visit the circus....




The Ringling Brothers and Barnum and Bailey Circus provided our little family a thrilling and captivating experience. Preslee, Spencer, and myself were completely awe struck at so many of the amazing acts they featured! We saw clowns a plenty, tight rope walkers, acrobats soaring through the air, strong men, stilt walkers, amazing elephants, trampoline tricks, contortionist, jugglers, tigers, and a steel ball with 7 motorcycle riders in it! Here are some pictures from the excitement!!









Worth every penny spent!

Milestones.....

6 years old....4 years old....and 4 months old! Praise the Lord that each of our children have recently reached these milestones in their life.



Lets start with Preslee...my first born...my strong willed, passionate, and intelligent daughter.



She recently just celebrated her 6th birthday. As I type the words I can't even believe I have been blessed to have her for the past 6 years. I remember the day she came into my life like it was yesterday. In true Preslee fashion, she came into the world on her own terms and her own timing. I labored with her for 16 hours and spent 4 very long hours pushing in order to meet my little angel. From day one she has had such a fire about her. She wants to know all the answers to life's biggest questions and she would argue with a tree stump. Her biggest enemy is a grasshopper. She has a tendency to wake up multiple times during the night, loves to be in the kitchen, enjoys food network, embraces all things girly, but doesn't mind getting a little dirty, and loves Presley's Country Jubilee (a music show in Branson, MO....our vacation destination). I pray daily that she will allow God to lead her life and use all the beautiful qualities He instilled in her to accomplish His will in her life. Passion runs deep in her little body and I am so excited to see what God has planned for her life. Love her!


Spencer....my middle child...my boy...laid back, imaginative, and oh so loveable.



Spencer, in March, just before his baby sister was born, celebrated his 4th birthday. Oh, what a joy the first 4 years of his life have been for me. Spencer spends each and everyday with one goal in mind....to make people happy. He wants to see you smile and laugh. He is a self proclaimed comedian who tells the best knock knock jokes. He spends hours playing alone in his room making up elaborate stories. His imagination is wild....he recently created an imaginary friend. His friend is actually his brother who exists only in mirrors. He often informs me that this brother of his hits him in the face....I can't help but smile! Spencer has a desire to protect, loves licking his hands, playing in the dirt, Cars, Buzz, and legos. He sleeps with his sweet mouth wide open. To him the best days are the ones where he gets to use the bathroom in the back yard! At this moment in his life his biggest dream is to be a chef and Preslee be his waitress. He has a heart of gold. My pray for him is that He will follow the Lord's leading and become the man he is called to be. He will be a fabulous husband and father. Praise the Lord for his sweet little life!

Brooklynn Ray....the baby....cuddle bug....the rest is still to be determined!



It literally blows my mind that this little angel is already 4 months old! It feels just like yesterday that our family welcomed her into the world. I know often she wonders how she ended up with us, but we have been so very blessed to have her. She brings so much more to our lives...like sleepless nights, lots of noise, dirty diapers, and slobber. She smiles when she is happy and sticks her sweet little lip out when she isn't getting what she wants. She laughs at mommy and daddy when they are silly and seems so fascinated by her big sister and big brother. She sleeps on her tummy and sucks her thumb for comfort. Her favorite toy is a lamb that she loves to chew on. When she is getting worked up to get mad her cry sounds more like a squawking dinosaur than a baby. She can't stand car rides, loves hearing Mary Had a Little Lamb redone to be Brooklynn Had a Little Lamb, and loves to reach out and grab hair. She is beautiful and I am so excited to see her personality develop.
I cherish each and every moment with these three! God blessed me so richly with each of their life's.

Outnumbered

I was asked the question the other day...."How do you manage three children?" There are days that I ask myself the same exact question....

We recently (well 4 months ago) celebrated the birth of our 3rd child, Brooklynn Ray Hilliard (or as her older siblings refer to her...Ray Ray). She is a perfect little blessing that has captured the hearts of our whole family. I can say with complete confidence that our life will never be the same!

So how are we managing with 3? I wish there was a simple explanation for that one...Each day life hands me is a new learning experience and the key is finding the learning curve. I rely very strongly on God to keep my fatigue from taking over each morning. Our life is Crazy! Rushed! Dazed! But in truth I am so very blessed! I can tell you there is nothing like 3. You learn quickly that you must go from man to man defense to a zone! There are moments of pure chaos, but most the time they only last for about 20 minutes. Sleep is a gift when you get it! Laundry goes from being just piles to being mountains that you are very unsure about tackling! Dishes are always dirty!! You start calling your children the wrong name (sometimes even the dogs name gets thrown in the mix). You hope that before you left the house you brushed your hair and applied deodorant! Panic plaques your whole body when you are driving down the road cause you can't remember if you got all the kids in the car. Dinner is often prepared one handed cause you are trying to soothe a fussy baby with the other. In our particular home with have 3 girls and only one bathroom....things could totally get out of hand with that ratio. But none of this compares to the joy of another child to share in our lives! I can't give thanks to God enough! And I can't even wait to see what is ahead for us!

We are tackling having 3 children the same as we did with having 2, or 1 (although that seems like a lifetime ago). We lean on God for our strength and foundation. We bathe our children, ourselves, and our decisions in prayer. I spend day after day praying for each of my children....I pray for protection, patience, guidance, gentleness, a humble spirit, discipline, joy, grace, mercy,etc. God has been so faithful and I only pray that I can raise my children to honor and glorify Him.

Our Choice to Home School

I write this blog because I am weary of answering the same questions to those who don't support or better yet, understand our choice to home school our children. My biggest concerns when first looking into home school was my ability to properly educate my children, I honestly had no idea it would become such a controversial subject with friends and family. I went into it blindly just assuming that they would support us in our decision, because knowing Jason and I, they would know that we would do nothing with out great prayer and petition to the Lord and loads of research to accompany our decision, but I was wrong on this assumption.

The most common complaint I receive is the topic of socialization....that I am going to ruin my children personalities...or turn them into social weirdo's. But is that a fair point? Yes, socialization is an argument for public school, but all to often our children receive negative socialization at school. It is not ideal and completely out of the parents control. My child who is only 5 and currently attending public school, has been exposed to so many things in school that I don't approve of. I know, I know....I can hear you saying...your children are going to be exposed to these things at some point in life. Yes, I agree, but I want to be in control of those situations...so that I can properly explain to my children how to handle them and deal with it. I am sparing my children from being faced with growing up way to fast and facing negative peer pressure on a daily basis by educating them at home. There are so many opportunities today for home school children to receive socialization in a healthy and safe environment. My children are active in our church, they participate on sports teams through out the year and currently my daughter attends gymnastics once a week. There are multiple other organizations to be involved in where our children have the opportunity to interact with other children and adults. To me the argument of socialization is void.

The second biggest argument I get is....your children won't be able to compete on a educational level with those children in public schools. All the research I have done and all the other families I have encourtered with home school children prove this argument untrue. In a home education environment there is a unique one-on-one type of tutoring, which produce better results than mass-produced education where there is one teacher to every 17 kids (in some cases more). The statistics favoring homeschoolers are overwhelming. Kids who have been taught at home don't just out perform their public school counter parts by small margins. They outdo the average public school kid by 30 to 37 percentile points in all subjects.

I am fully aware that home schooling will undoubtedly come with it's own set of challenges, but I am 100% confident in our decision that this is the right choice for our children. We will have the wonderful opportunity to incorporate our religious values into ever aspect of our childrens lives...this includes their education. Instead of this two areas being completely separate from one another. We will be able to enjoy a strong family bond of unity and strength. I will have the freedom to teach my children the truth on certain issues, that public schools teach falsely. Such as the topic of creationism vs. evolution. Instead of having to combat our families stance on this subject we will be able to teach our children the beautiful literal 6 day creation that is found in the Bible...our source of truth. Our family will have freedom to go on vacation, visit family, take a field trip, etc when we want and not have to conform to a strict 5 day week of school where our children spend more time at school than at home.

Homeschooling is a personal conviction for my husband and I. I do not look down upon those who do not find it the best way to educate their children. I can not be the judge of what is best for another family...I can only do what I feel God has laid out as best for my family. I ultimately am the only one responsible for how I raise my children. I want to be able to say, "It is well with my soul." And finally after many many months of prayer, deliberation, and research on the subject of home school I have come to a place where I am able to truly say "it is well with my soul."

Working on Her Scripture.

This is a video of Preslee working on her Scripture memory. We use the Truth and Grace Memory Book by Thomas K Ascol, with both our children and are so pleased with the results we are seeing. It teaches memory of Scripture and Catechism. It has been a blessing in our life and a great tool to help bring up our children in the Lord.

Amazing Grace

All Hail The Power of Jesus' Name

1. All hail the power of Jesus' name!
Let angels prostrate fall;
bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.
Bring forth the royal diadem,
and crown him Lord of all.

2. Ye chosen seed of Israel's race,
ye ransomed from the fall,
hail him who saves you by his grace,
and crown him Lord of all.
Hail him who saves you by his grace,
and crown him Lord of all.

3. Sinners, whose love can ne'er forget
the wormwood and the gall,
go spread your trophies at his feet,
and crown him Lord of all.
Go spread your trophies at his feet,
and crown him Lord of all.

4. Let every kindred, every tribe
on this terrestrial ball,
to him all majesty ascribe,
and crown him Lord of all.
To him all majesty ascribe,
and crown him Lord of all.

5. Crown him, ye martyrs of your God,
who from his altar call;
extol the Stem of Jesse's Rod,
and crown him Lord of all.
Extol the Stem of Jesse's Rod,
and crown him Lord of all.

6. O that with yonder sacred throng
we at his feet may fall!
We'll join the everlasting song,
and crown him Lord of all.
We'll join the everlasting song,
and crown him Lord of all.

Maybe....

OK....I have decided to jump on the "blog wagon" LOL!!! I don't know how grand my blogs will be, but I promise they will always be filled with love, Christ, fun stories from the front lines of being a pastors wife, delightful tales of raising two children that are only 21 months apart, and the everlasting joy of being a believer in Jesus Christ!! Lets celebrate life together!!!