2014: Simple

Happy New Year! I am very glad to be moving on from 2013...it was a tough year. Thankfully it ended well and allowed me to consider what I want my focus to be for this new year. I have given up making new year resolutions long ago. I have generally been making monthly and yearly goals that both inspire growth and allow me to have fun! I have also at times created a theme for the year that I want to focus on related to those goals and the way I want to strive to live out each day.

A blog that I enjoy called "(in)courage" shared a post yesterday that really summed up the idea of choosing a theme for your year, particularly a one word theme. They described it as follows:

"Choose just one word. One word that sums up who you want to be or how you want to live. One word that you can focus on every day, all year long.

It will take intentionality and commitment, but if you let it, your one word will shape not only your year, but also you. It will become the compass that directs your decisions and guides your steps.

Discover the big impact one word can make.

One word. 365 days. A changed life."

(Check out the full post here (in)courage: Rewriting Resolutions & Choosing One Word )

My word for 2014 is "SIMPLE"

After last year, I do not want another year of chaos and stress. Of course I can't control the circumstances of life OR, as I'm learning, I can't plan every detail of my life and it will turn out just so. I need to do better at trusting God with His plan and being a good steward, wife, daughter, sister, friend and stranger along the way.

Simple is described on thesaurus.com in several simple ways:
- clear, understandable; easy
- uncluttered, natural
- childlike, innocent

 I want this next year to be filled with great new beginnings, incredible blessings, positive habits, spiritual stepping stones and a lot of fun. I started at the end of 2013 with trying to have simple faith. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." - Proverbs 3:5-6  I find it ironic that this verse has come to mind frequently for the last 3 months and it is one that I memorized as a child. Even the verse can be broken down simply into 4 sections as shown in the picture.

So I start out 2014 as part of a Facebook group, January Discardia, in which we will simply de-clutter our homes by getting rid of items that create unnecessary clutter. I love the simple process:
January 1 discard 1 item
January 2 discard 2 items...and so on
January 31 you discard 31 items.
That is almost 500 things!

Here's to a SIMPLE 2014!!!

Merry Christmas 2013

Merry Christmas to all our family and friends! This year has been a roller coaster, but ultimately one of celebration and new beginnings for us. We are grateful to all of you who kept us in your prayers and supported us through our time in Wisconsin while Josh finished school. We have been patiently waiting on the Lord and working hard to get to the point where we were both finished with school and ready for the next chapter of our lives together. This year we celebrate many exciting memories and the relief of getting past the not so exciting ones!

May 17, we celebrated Josh's graduation from Concordia University! We enjoyed having family join us for the ceremony and celebration of this wonderful accomplishment. It was also Josh's 30th birthday this year. So the day after graduation Josh, and his brother Mike, celebrated their big 30 by taking a hiking trip along the coast of Lake Superior at Pictured Rocks in the upper peninsula. (There were still ice formations on the shore!) Of course even with graduation, the journey was not quite over. Josh still had to pass his boards. So after a fun hiking trip, Josh got back into study mode for the next 2 months, with only one small interruption...A JOB!

In June, we celebrated Josh getting his first job as a Physical Therapist at a clinic in northern Illinois. He started part time and then moved to full time in July. Nonetheless, we had a busy summer as Josh was commuting to Illinois for work and studying for his boards. I was still working full time at the counseling clinic and earning clinical hours towards my license. The past year had been very stressful at work for me, so I was counting down the days until we would officially move to Illinois.

The beginning of August, we celebrated the news of Josh passing his boards! There was hugging and I think I did a little jumping in the middle of the living room. Of course I knew he could do it, but the stress of your job dependent on the passing of the boards was a bit much for both of us. There was a big sigh, a great sense of relief and a readiness to look to the future that evening!

August 25, we celebrated our 6th Anniversary by sleeping on an air mattress with just the necessities for one week in our apartment and 2 weeks between visiting family and hotel rooms. September 13, we celebrated moving into our new apartment in Illinois. The smallest of the living arrangements we have had, but filled with the most joy we have experienced in many years! Josh has been very busy at work, but enjoying his work. I have not found work yet, however, I have been celebrating a much needed break that has been a blessing and refreshment to say the least.

December 25, we will enjoy Christmas just the two of us, celebrating our Savior's birth and the amazing year that we have had experiencing His blessings! We look forward to the new blessings we will share in 2014. May your Christmas be filled with His presence and your New Year with many blessings and celebrations!

Blessings,

Josh and Jenean Moore

Oatmeal Queen Smoothie Version: Day 1, 2, 3 & 4

Hopefully you read my February Goal in my last post. I will be making oatmeal smoothies for breakfast each day thru February. I did start a little early because of the groceries we just bought. So I'm catching you up in this post. These smoothies are made with oats that are blended into a flour consistency and then mixing in a liquid, yogurt, fruit and any additional flavorings. Then the smoothie is refrigerated over night to allow the oatmeal to soak in the flavors and thicken.

Day 1: Peachy Apply Smoothie
1/4 c ground oats
1 c milk
1/4 c peach yogurt
1 c chopped apple
1/8 c wheat germ (for added fiber and folic acid)
2 tsp sugar

* Not a fan:( The wheat germ was too strong. I did like that it was a little bit chunky because of the apple. Needed more sweet flavor for me.

Day 2: California Breeze Smoothie
1/4 c ground oats
1 c lemonade
1/4 c peach yogurt
1 c chopped apple
2 tbs shredded coconut
* YUM!!! This was very tasty and sweet. Like the tropical cousin of pina colada:)

Day 3: Pear it with Vanilla Smoothie
1/4 c ground oats
1 c flavored milk (so I don't like to drink my cereal milk just because the cereal flavoring takes over and it tastes sweet. So I thought I would save my milk from my bowl of Frosted Mini Wheat Crunch Cinnamon flavor (frugal idea:) and use it for a smoothie)
1 c chopped pear
1/4 c vanilla yogurt
* YUM!!! The flavored milk was a great choice, it reminded me of almond milk, but we don't buy that and wouldn't spend the money on it right now. This was a simple smoothie with great flavor! I'll be saving my cereal milk again!

Day 4: PB & Honey Smoothie
1/4 c ground oats
1 c milk
1/4 c vanilla yogurt
2 tbs peanut butter
1 tbs honey
* Eh, it's okay. It was definitely peanut butter flavor. I liked it for the first half and then the second half of the smoothie I didn't love because the flavor was rich. I would try it again with maybe a little bit less peanut butter maybe.

2013 Goals and Themes

Happy New Year! I like to make monthly goals rather than new year's resolutions because they seem more manageable. This year I also wanted to think of a theme that my goals could be related to along with the general flow of everyday life. So for 2013 the theme is

BE BETTER, BE FRUGAL

The "better" part is from the fact that I just want to make better choices to be a better woman of God, wife, family member, friend, employee, servant, etc. Make better choices related to exercising, healthy eating, meal planning, housekeeping, organization, etc. Make better choices for my spiritual walk, marriage, money management, time management, etc.

The "frugal" part fits in to the better, but I specifically wanted to find ways that we could be more frugal this year as part of a fun challenge to be creative, but also as a way to spend less and save as we prepare for a year of many changes and unknowns ahead.

JANUARY GOAL:  BE BETTER: Follow a prayer calendar every day that focuses on seeking God's will and plan for my life. The verses that I prayed through have been incredible encouragements for me during a very stressful full-time job. The Lord really spoke to me through His Word and reminded me that he is sovereign, graceful, powerful, loving and he is with me no matter what trials I deal with.

FEBRUARY GOAL: BE BETTER: BE FRUGAL: I'm bringing back the Oatmeal Queen:) I am going to make an oatmeal smoothie for breakfast each day. I actually started this goal a bit early because we went grocery shopping and already had some of the needed items on hand that were perishable. So keep an eye out for the Oatmeal Queen posts to begin! This goal will satisfy both themes because it will make me be better at eating something for breakfast and not skipping the meal all together. Some smoothies will be healthy and some will be based on what we have around in the pantry/fridge (frugal). I might end up with some pretty interesting combinations:) So my sole purpose is not just to be healthy, but I look forward to finding some healthier options that I can come back to.

Also for the month of February I am going to pray for Josh each day following a prayer calendar for husbands. I originally thought of doing this because it is his birthday month, but then realized it is also the month of Valentine's. So what better month to spend more intentional time in prayer for him:)

Christmas & New Year's

Josh and I spent Christmas just the two of us in T-Ville since I had to work that whole week. The weekend after Christmas we were able to go down to Ohio and visit Josh's parents for a few days. It was a nice relaxing visit. We were thankful to be able to drive down since we hadn't made the trip for over a year.

Josh's blanket wrapping paper alternative for a heavy box:)

After a few days we all traveled up to Indianapolis and met up with Melissa's family for a couple of nights at a hotel and to celebrate the new year. The kids really enjoyed swimming in the pool and getting free popcorn. The guys experienced the indoor and outdoor side of the pool:)

We took a day and went to the Children's Museum. We all enjoyed seeing Bumblebee and "being" from Transformers:)

There was a train exhibit with a large train that made real life sounds and lighting effects that made it look like the wheels were moving.  The kids enjoyed watching the model trains and crawl through the hiding spots in the exhibit. Charlie especially liked pushing the button for the model trains even though it didn't seem to do anything:)

The kids had a chance to dig for dinosaur bones

Lucy was enjoying the museum too and grabbing everyone's food of the lunch table...Eric will remember his full water bottle being dumped over by her quick little hands.

Josh reliving the moments he actually used one of these for work...only a tad bit bigger, but not much

Maddie and Hannah drew self portraits 

One of my favorite childhood characters!

Charlie ran back and forth on this fake ice skating floor about a thousand times, it was hilarious!

Free Popcorn Time!

Story time with Uncle Josh

Opening Christmas gifts from Grandpa and Grandma

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!