Hoping you are settling into your summer rythyms! Maybe you are in the summer camp routine. Or embarking on family vacations or just enjoying the luxury of not having a schedule. Whatever your journey is, I hope you are finding some feelings of contentment. I know it can be hard transitioning into another schedule. The house feels the tension for a moment and then it exhales. Remember there is no wrong or right way to do summer. However, I do encourage you if you are struggling, to accept the change in season. Let me give your permission to allow for extra screen time when it happens. Knowing that all siblings fight, and not everyone is facilitating a Pinterest worthy craft on the hour every hour. You are not a cruise ship director, or a camp counselor. You may not feel like you “nailed it” every single day and this okay.
The 4th of July is this week! Try to make plans to fire up the grill and buy some water balloons. I promise that will make it feel like the best day ever! Below I will make sure to give you some great recipes for the grill this week. Also, my favorite pasta salad to bring to a BBQ. Since 4th of July is on a Thursday, I feel like it is going to make for a long weekend. I have a couple of great drink recipes for adults and kids. Making some freshly squeezed lemonade can be both a fun project for kiddos and a delicious treat. I love the kind you get on the boardwalk where you get a little bit of pulp and maybe a little crunch of sugar between your teeth!
This week I will be making a summer family favorite, pasta with crab sauce. We have so many good memories of being at the Jersey Shore, crabbing off the dock. My mom, grandma, and aunts would busy themselves in the kitchen cracking the crabs open. Taking turns stirring the pot of sauce. I will say I think it tastes a bit better eating it with the salty sea air. But it still gets the job done even when I make it here, at home. Make sure to join me on Instagram where I will make sure I show you how to do it on my stories, on Tuesday!
Another thing I am doing this summer is trying to help Siena continue with some of her reading. We are doing themed weeks. Where we have a word of the week, if someone says it out loud they have to spell it. Then all of the books for that week go in a book bin. They go with the theme. If she reads them she gets a sticker on chart. And she has to do one journal entry a week. I have also committed to doing one themed craft with her per week. Here is the run down this week if you feel like doing things in your own home.
Word of the week: Firework
Craft: Glitter and Glue Fireworks on Canvas
Hoping you enjoy the devotional for the week below, as well as the recipes. Look out for our first subscriber cooking class being announced next week! Have a happy and safe 4th of July week!
For those that are still new I am keeping the “Let’s Get Started!” Message Below:
Some notes before we dive in. This newsletter is designed to go along with the free printable. My hope is that you will be able to write down the verse of the week in space provided. A long with any prayer requests or thoughts you would like to be reminded of throughout your week when you set aside time with God.
The meal plan is made to give you a peek into what I am making this week. To serve as inspiration, not an iron clad plan. Your budget and family schedule needs to be considered. This is to serve as an idea or a guide. I typically plan out 3 solid dinners. That way I have the ingredients for all 3 and I do not have to run back and forth to the store. Another reason why I only choose 3 is because I like to try to work with the leftovers. It helps with creativity and the budget. Also, every week does not ALWAYS go according to plan. Therefore, I need flexibility without the chance of throwing out un-used ingredients. There is bound to be a night where things run late and it turns into a pizza night. Or maybe my mom calls and tells us to come over for dinner. These things happen, this leaves room for life!
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