GOODBYE CLUTTER!

One good thing that came out of us not going to Nevada this weekend was that I was able to clean out my entire bedroom. My BIGGEST tackle is my bedroom closet. We don't have alot of storage space, so it seems that everything "extra" goes in there. Kind of like, out of sight, out of mind. I literally took everything out, and was able to fill up EIGHT...(yes, EIGHT) garbage bags of clothes to give away! I pulled all the clothes down from the top shelf in the closet and now it looks like a department store shelf!

Now, I try to keep it as real as possible on my blog, and I have to confess that I have not vacuumed under the chest in a long, long time. So long, that I found an old plastic Easter egg underneath it. I literally could not remember when we had those plastic eggs! It was heavy, so I decided to open it up, and guess what I found?? An egg!! Not a fake egg, but an egg that my kids dyed!!! Thank God that it had faded paint, so it looked normal, but I'm sure underneath the shell was the most disgusting thing ever! Honestly, I'm so glad I found it because there was this smell in the room that we could not pinpoint! When I opened up the egg, it was THAT smell!!! Thank you, Lord!!!!!

So, now my room is clutter free, it smells GOOD, and my husband is happy!

To read more stories how to Make Your Home Sing, click here.

SCRIPTURE SUNDAY

On Sundays, I decided I would share a scripture(s). I pray that it will be a blessing to whoever reads it.

"...I have also trusted in the Lord; I shall not slip. Examine me, O Lord, and prove me; try my mind and my heart. For Your lovingkindness is before my eyes, and I have walked in Your truth."-Psalm 26: 1b-3

ON THE ROAD AGAIN...

Well, not really again since we haven't been on a road trip in a long time! It's so nice to get away sometimes!

By the time you read this, we'll be in good ole' Nevada, visiting my in-laws! Since my husband had Friday & Monday off, we decided that this would be the perfect time to go! Might as well make the most out of his days off.

But, you know I can't do a post without sharing a picture, so here a few that my daughter took last week, while we were at the park with their cousins.

My nephew Nick! He is so cute!!

UPDATE: We ended up not going to Nevada. We were on our way there when suddenly our "service engine soon" light came on! Better safe than sorry, so we turned back around instead of getting stuck in the mountains in the middle of the night. The kids were disappointed (Miranda even cried because she was looking forward to going to her grandparents house), but we felt that it was a blessing in disguise. Who knows what could have happened if we kept driving, right?

FRIDAY PHOTO FLASHBACK

I started "Friday Photo Flashback" because I have so many pictures from my PRE-digital camera days. I thought it would be fun to scan them and share them here with you. I'm having so much fun doing this, that I would love for you to join me, too! So dig out the photo albums and put your scanner to good use! Don't forget to sign in to MckLinky so we can all visit and comment on each others blogs!

JULY 1996

I thought I'd share a picture from my wedding day! This was our cake/gift table, and I love how our photographer added some my personal effects to this shot! Our cake topper was given to us by my mother in-law. She collects Precious Moments. That was also my wedding bouquet, the shoes I was wearing (I know, I have big feet), and my pearl necklace. And don't worry, the shoes didn't touch the cake..hehe. And that is my nephew in the background (peeking in the window).

We had a small wedding, just our closest friends and family, but it was special and beautiful!

FUN FACT: On this day, May 28, 1988, we "officially" became boyfriend and girlfriend!

THE PARTY HAS JUST BEGUN..

It was my oldest daughters 13th birthday yesterday, but her birthday celebrationS started the day before. My sister in-law took us out to dinner at an Italian restaurant called Giorgio's. Mmm...mmm!!

Before we eat, we always give thanks first. I wanted to capture this moment (since it was my daughters bday), and I cracked up when I saw my youngest daughter! Yes, that is her eating while my husband is praying! LOL!!

Next morning (Wednesday) was her actual birthday, and I decided to take the kids to Ihop for breakfast! Isaiah said he was still full from the night before so he didn't want to go..lol.

This was delicious!!

She wanted an ice cream cake for her birthday, so after breakfast we headed over to Baskin Robbins. Of course, they all wanted a scoop of ice cream while we were there!

My sister and her family were visiting from Hawaii, but we only got to see them on this day. So our plans with them were to go to the movies. We saw Shrek! The three extra boys are my nephews, and one of them has a baseball tournament in Las Vegas this week.

Later on that evening, we had plans to go to dinner with my dad and his wife.


And it was oh so yummy!


We ended the night with the cake, and of course, here is my daughter making crazy faces!


So, two days of birthday fun for her, and her last celebration will be her party coming up in a couple of weeks!

WORDFUL WEDNESDAY

No wonder the ice cream lady slows down when she passes by our house.

Be sure to visit 7 Clown Circus for Wordful Wednesday

I HEART FACES-YELLOW

This weeks theme: YELLOW

To see more "yellow" entries, click the button above.

This was taken in summer 2008, after Vacation Bible School!

CURLY BURGER

My son, Daniel (my almost 8 year old) loves to eat, so I'm not surprised when he thought of a new "creation." After church, he wanted a burger & curly fries.

So, he killed two birds with one stone.

He put his curly fries in his burger and said, "This is called a curly burger."

Guess what he said next?

"Mom, take a picture of it and put it on your blog!" LOL!

SCRIPTURE SUNDAY

On Sundays, I decided I would share a scripture(s). I pray that it will be a blessing to whoever reads it.

"This is the day the LORD has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it."-Psalm 118:24

AWARDS & Q&A'S!

Marice from Life Can Wait, Michelle from A'etonu Family Adventures, and Xmas Dolly have all passed this cute award on to me!! I'm so thankful, but also apologize for not posting this earlier! I'm so bad at keeping up with awards. Haha..I make it sound like I just get tons of them, right?

Xmas Dolly also passed these along to me too!

I hope this is a good thing! LOL

And yay..sunshine! We all could use some of this!

Well, according to the first award, I'm supposed to answer some questions from the person who sent it to me. So, the following questions are from Marice! I love doing this!

1. How did you come up with your blog name? When I first started blogging, I must have changed my name so many times! I think the first one was "Party of Seven," but it just didn't feel right. Finally, the song "More Than Words" came to mind, and I knew it was perfect because my blog is just "More Than Words."

2. Are you a morning or night person? Well, I'm definitely NOT a morning person, but I have to force myself to be since I am a stay at home mom. It's not that I want to sleep in, but I just like to lounge around for a little bit. So, what I do is get up before the kids so I have that extra time for myself. As far as the evening goes, I can stat up LATE!!! Amazingly, I will still get up at the same time!

3. What's your favorite song, and why? I have so many. I can't really narrow it down to just one. And they are all from different genres of music! From praise and worship to R&B!

4. Who is your favorite actress and why? Hmm..I don't really have a favorite one, but I really like Sandra Bullock!

5. How about your favorite actor, of course, and why? Not really into any specific actor, but I do love action movies with actors like Matt Damon, Samuel L. Jackson, and many others!

6. What type of movie do you love watching? Action!!!!

7. What's your favorite quote? Ephesians 2:8-9-"For by grace you have been saved through faith and not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works , lest anyone should boast."

8. Where/what is your favorite spot in the house and why? LOL, anywhere I can find peace & quiet for even a minute! Where I go, kids follow!

9. What's your favorite breakfast meal? Honestly? One that I don't have to cook!

10. What would you like to say to me? I'd like to say, thank you again for this award, and I'm so blessed to have connected with you. It's amazing how this blogging works!!! You are all the way in the PI, and I'm in the states!!

FRIDAY PHOTO FLASHBACK

I started "Friday Photo Flashback" because I have so many pictures from my PRE-digital camera days. I thought it would be fun to scan them and share them here with you. I'm having so much fun doing this, that I would love for you to join me, too! So dig out the photo albums and put your scanner to good use! Don't forget to sign in to MckLinky so we can all visit and comment on each others blogs!

December 1995

Don't you love seeing old pictures of yourself that you've never seen before? Well, this is one of them! My sis in-law brought back some pictures that my in-laws had, and I was so excited to see some "old" pictures of my husband and I. I believe I was two months pregnant with Isaiah here! I was 27, and my husband was 25! Gosh, how time flies!!!

ONE THING AFTER ANOTHER...

We have so many things coming up in the next few weeks, but I'm trying not to feel overwhelmed.

I'm actually excited about all of them, but they are literally all back to back!

Next week, my sister and her family will be visiting from Hawaii, but we're only going to see them for a couple of days. They have to spread their time out between us, my dad, and my mom.

It's also my oldest daughter's 13th birthday next Wednesday, so I'm glad her cousins will be here to spend it with her!

That coming Friday, we're going to visit my in-laws in Nevada for a couple of days, and I'm still worried about our puppies and what we're going to do with them (they are indoor dogs).

June 1st will by my son's 8th grade graduation ceremony!!! I'm beyond thrilled! I'm so proud of him! I can't believe I will have a high schooler (is that a word?) this fall!

And finally, that coming weekend is going to be Miranda's big 13th birthday party at Embassy Suites Hotel! At the last minute, her friend decided not to have the party together, so it's going to be "all about her." We made her invitations and I already received the decorations that I ordered through birthdayexpress.com.

Here's a picture of her invitations. We bought plain silver shiny card stock, glued on the pre-cut scrapbook paper, and the dots and beads were just stickers. So simple! It's hard to tell, but it's red, silver, and black, and they also match her "Rock Star Diva" theme!

One of the "splurges" that I made for her party is ordering these custom cookies by a blogger that I found through Mckmama! I sent her a picture of the party theme, and she is going to do the rest!! You should check her site out here if you have time. She makes the best cakes & cookies! I told my daughter that I better not see one crumb hanging around!

But, that's not it for June! A few weeks later is my son, Eli's, 10th birthday, and he's already got everything planned about what he wants to do!! That makes it so much easier for me, thank you very much!

Oh, and did I mention that my two other boys birthday's are in July? Only two weeks apart from each other...

WORDFUL WEDNESDAY

HOME SCHOOLED!


Let me just point out (for those who are much younger than I), that this is an old school Atari video game controller. A couple of people have commented that it looked like a middle finger. Oops, I didn't even think of that. Atari was the first video game console I ever played, so that's why I picked this for my son (who is a video gamer)!

Before anyone gets offended, WE are a home schooling family. Nine years now, to be exact, and proud of it!

So, just know, I'm not saying homeschoolers play video games all day (contrary to what some people may think), but I just had to get this one!!

I won a giveaway at Mom's Mutterings, and was able to pick a t-shirt from Crazy Dog T-Shirts. They have a huge selection to choose from! But, if you knew my son, he LOVES his Xbox Live and PS3, so this t-shirt was perfect!!

Be sure to visit 7 Clown Circus for Wordful Wednesday

GOING BANANAS

Today, I am linking up with Communal Global! This weeks theme is, "Today I learned..."

The other day I was craving for this Filipino dessert called "Turon." It's basically a deep fried banana that is wrapped in won ton wrapper. It's so simple, but I have not made this in YEARS. It's much easier to just buy it, but I wanted to make mine from scratch.

These are all the ingredients you need. You could find them at any Asian market. And, instead of regular bananas, I used plantains because they hold up much better.

I cut the plantains in quarters.

All you do is take one of the wrappers and then add one piece of the banana, one layer of the jackfruit, and add a sprinkle of brown sugar on top. I'm not sure how to describe jackfruit, but it's really sweet, almost like a mango. But, the texture is smooth, like a jello. I hope that makes sense!

Here's a close up. The jackfruit and brown sugar is what makes it sweet.

Next, you just wrap it like a burrito. You fold it over, fold in the sides, and then roll it up. You can use water or egg yolk to seal the ends.

And it will end up like this! At this point, you can fry as many as you want, or freeze them for later use.

Make sure the oil is hot and ready, and just brown each side till it is a dark, golden brown.

You don't have to sprinkle any sugar on it afterward, but I like to add just a little bit of confectioners sugar. Yum!

Enjoy!

NEW SAUSAGE FIND!

I normally don't promote food products, but I found one that we all love, and I wanted to share it with all of you!

I went to Costco the other day, and they were giving out samples of a variety of sausages from this brand called Aidells. I can't remember the first one I tried, but I made a comment about not trying the Habanero one because I know that that is one of THE hottest peppers ever! Well, the lady told me that it's a little spicy, but not too much because it's mixed with other ingredients.

Let me just say that this is delicious! It is full of flavor, and not too spicy at all. It's comparable to "medium" spice.

Not only that, I loved that fact that it didn't contain all the junk in them. You can read the label here!

There are so many ways to fix this, but I cut it up and cooked it with red bell peppers.


The sausages are already fully cooked, so all you need to do is brown them.

Mmm.mmm! We ate ours with white rice!

SCRIPTURE SUNDAY

On Sundays, I decided I would share a scripture(s). I pray that it will be a blessing to whoever reads it.

"The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer; my God, my strength, in whom I will trust; my shield and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold."-Psalm 18:2

DECISIONS, DECISIONS...

Gotta love buffets!!!

FRIDAY PHOTO FLASHBACK

I started "Friday Photo Flashback" because I have so many pictures from my PRE-digital camera days. I thought it would be fun to scan them and share them here with you. I'm having so much fun doing this, that I would love for you to join me, too! So dig out the photo albums and put your scanner to good use! Don't forget to sign in to MckLinky so we can all visit and comment on each others blogs!

1978-ish

This is a picture of me (left) with my mom and my sister. I was around 9 years old. You can hardly see it, but I'm holding a lollipop in my left hand, and I remember rubbing it on my lips so they could turn red! I wanted it to look like I was wearing lipstick! I also loved that tank top I was wearing. And it's so funny how kids always make peace signs in pictures!

I HEART MY NECKLACES

I'm participating in a year long challenge, created by Carin at Forever In Blue Jeans. The goal is to be in one picture a week, for 52 weeks. Since us moms are always behind the camera, this gives us a chance to get out in front and be in the pictures with our family. So, click here if you want to join in on the fun!

47/52

Five more to go!!

For Mother's Day, my boys made these necklaces for me in their Sunday school class. I didn't have one from Veronica because she stayed with us in the sanctuary that morning. But, aren't these cute? And I love that scripture! It was actually the one I used for my Sunday post too!

WORDFUL WEDNESDAY

My son Danny (my almost 8 year old) cracks me up. He's the "typical" boy that likes to play in dirt, play with tools, wrestle...well, you get the picture.

The other day, my husband filled his truck up with things that he needed to bring to the dump, and sure enough, Danny was excited to help daddy. The thought of unloading the truck and throwing them in a pile of garbage was totally appealing to him.

Danny wanted to make sure he had what he needed before they left, and he was stoked when he found this particular mask. I don't know if he felt that it made him more "manly man" but this is how he ended up when they finally got to the dump.

He didn't even wake up! There he is...comfy leaning against his big bro!


Be sure to visit 7 Clown Circus for Wordful Wednesday

WHO'S A BABY NOW?

About a week ago, my daughter Veronica was complaining about her toe hurting. I thought she stubbed her toe, or that it was rubbing against the shoe she was wearing. I didn't think much of it since things like that happen to kids all the time (well, at least to my kids).

Fast forward a few days and she's still complaining about it. I had no idea it was still bothering her since she was still playing and running around like she normally does. So, I look at it and notice that it looks bruised, like she either bumped into something, or something fell on her foot. She said none of that happened, but it was very tender to the touch. I barely caressed it and she was saying, "Ouch!" My husband ended up looking at it and said it looked like an ingrown toenail.

I jump on Google right away, and click on images to see if it looked like her toe, and sure enough it did. I called the advice nurse and she told me to soak her foot three times a day, 30 minutes at a time, blah, blah, blah. We didn't need to come in..blah, blah, blah.

After a couple of days, I'm thinking, "What is the point of this?" I called the advice nurse back saying it looked worst, and that I'm worried it might be infected.

They finally made an appointment for her to come in the next day.

So, here we are, in the pediatric waiting area, and my daughter was "observing" this other child..lol.

And here is a picture of her toe. It doesn't look too bad in the picture though. It was darker around her toenail and puffy on the side. The doctor said it didn't look like an ingrown toenail, but that her toe was infected because she probably pulled the skin on the side of her toe. The technical term for that is called "Paronychia."

Definition: Paronychia is an infection alongside the fingernail or toenail. It usually occurs from an opening in the cuticle or an ingrown toenail which lets bacteria under the skin.

I was actually relieved it wasn't an ingrown toenail because it would have been more painful to treat.

Turns out, she needed to go to minor surgery so they could get the infection out. All the puss inside was making her toe poofy. In short, they need to cut it open!! I was kinda stressing because I felt so bad for her!

Registered & ready to go!

The doctor comes in and explains the procedure. She was very sweet, so I felt comfortable with her immediately.

They have to give her three shots in her toe to numb it, and explains that that is the most painful spot to get a shot. Now, just picture me sitting there with tears in my eyes! I couldn't stop! Then Veronica is looking at me totally worried. I know, I wasn't making it any easier! I told her I wasn't crying because I was scared, but that I felt bad that she had to do this. I also said that we had to do this or it would get worst. Anyway, she was fine. She totally understood.

The doc sprayed some numbing medicine on her toe before she gave her the shots (that's why her toe looks yellow), and you can see the little red dots on her toe where she got pricked afterward.

And I have to give my daughter major props because she DID NOT CRY AT ALL, she whimpered a little bit, AND she watched them do it!! I couldn't even watch them do that part! The doctor and nurse were so impressed because normally kids are screaming!

They wait a few minutes to let the numbing medicine kick in. You can see how dark her toe is in this picture.

So, the worst part was over! Now, all they have to do is cut it open and let the puss out. Okay..major props again to my daughter because she sat up the entire time watching them do this!! And I'm sure the doctor thought I was a psycho for taking pictures!

All done! They literally had the blade underneath the skin, and blood & puss were oozing out! At one point, Veronica said nonchalantly, "That looks disgusting!"

Soaking in iodine bath.


And three hours later, we were all done. I was super proud of her!

The reason the title of this post is "Who's A Baby Now," is because she is my youngest, and sometimes she will still whine and pout. Her siblings will say, "Stop acting like a baby." I admit, I still baby her alot because she is my last child, and she will always be my baby! LOL. But, ultimately, I know it was the Lord that was comforting her the whole time. We prayed together even before we got to the hospital, and right before her shots, I reassured her that Jesus was there and taking care of her.

Anyway, I told her that they should have seen her there because then they would not be calling her a baby. In fact, even though my boys are pretty rough, I know that they would be wailing and screaming if this had to be done to them. So, that is another reason I took pictures, so that they could see what she had to go through (oh, and for blogging purposes too)..hehee.

And all she wanted after all of this was a milkshake from McDonald's!!!!