by Kimberly | Jun 2, 2014 | creatives
Being a Father is tough.
And many of you might be saying – Kim, you are a mom – how would you know?
Well, because I’m married to one. I see the importance of providing for his family, caring for his family, leading his family, praying for his family – all of that – weighs heavily on him.
Being a Father isn’t just about working hard to provide financially. Being a Father isn’t all about playing on the floor with your children at night or giving your wife a break from the kids sometimes.
Being a Father is mostly about shepherding the family that God has entrusted you with to look more like Christ – EVERY DAY!
This past weekend I was able to do a Scripture art piece for a father that I know. I got to pray the Proverbs for him as he leads his children. I got to pray the truths of Deuteronomy 6 for him as he shepherds his family by the Word of God. I got to praise God for the man of God that He is and how is wife described him.
What a blessing this man is to his family and those around him.
Do you want a personal gift for Father’s Day? Contact me about Scripture art – fully custom piece.
And please remember: be thankful for your fathers and the fathers that you know. And pray for them!
by Kimberly | Jun 2, 2014 | Books
Do you live a life in a glass bubble where everything is rosey and lively and romantic, free of trials, every day? Since when do we not know of hardship, trials, anger, feelings of worthlessness or just mad at what others have done to you or what you have done to others?
God doesn’t promise his children the perfect life. But, He has promised to always walk with us. That is a treasure in hard times. Life, in these almost three years of marriage (and Renee and I got married in the same month) have not been perfectly photographed and stages. My husband and I have had the greatest joys of our life (children) and some of the greatest hardships of either of our lives (dealing with personal sin and then the dealings of other sins to us). It has been a marriage of joy and hand-holding, and months of tears and hard conversations. I wouldn’t trade my husband for anything in the world and am so glad I said yes to him almost 3 years ago (Thursday, to be exact).
Hardships are real. If you know any of that, then you want to pick up Renee’s Kindle devotional: Dream Devotional.
What I like about Dream Devotional:
1. Renee is real. I love being a real friend and person. Sometimes, that has come back to bite me, but I hate being artificial and fake.
2. Its free until June 5. Amazon. Kindle. Thank you!
3. Readability. You find yourself in the stories and thoughts that Renee shares and you can find hope in the truths that she finds hope in. And they are short. When you are a mother – you don’t have time to read long chapters – so I like short ones!
4. Hope. We are not stuck in our hardships. We are not stuck where the going gets tough. God uses hardships to grow us more like Christ. And we all need that.
by Kimberly | Jun 2, 2014 | food
Usually I just type my menu into my iphone notes and go from there. But, since I need every practice and lettering and calligraphy – I usually attempt to jot down my menu on a notepad. I’m in the process of making a set of menu note pads and grocery list pages for the Etsy shop – so be on the lookout!
This week is going to have BBQ chicken written all over it. I opened a bottle of sauce the other night for some pulled beef and now need to use it up – so we are bringing on summer with three bbq meals. I know they will be delicious and I feel like we should eat them outside – but we have no deck furniture – or a deck for that matter – we have a slab of concrete. Today we sold our home in Little Rock (or should because today was the day) and I loved our deck there – complete with charcoal grill. We had one in the townhome where we spent our first married year – and it made it possible for us to enjoy each other’s company longer in the courtship process.
What are you cooking this week? The only reason there is no sweet stuff this week is because I’m doing 7 days with no sweets – baked goods. That’s been good because last week I ate way too many. Also starting the gym today – so that will be good in helping me get off the lest 23 baby pounds – from two babies!
Monday: CPK frozen bbq chicken pizza – veggies
Tuesday: Spaghetti Pie – garlic bread – veggies
Wednesday: Turkey Sloppy Joes from Joy the Baker (I’m using store bought wheat rolls) – salad
Thursday: BBQ chicken – roasted corn – roasted reds
Friday: BBQ chicken chopped salads with homemade ranch dressing
Saturday: Brinner: bbq chicken bagel sandwiches with pesto aoli (idea from macheesmo)
Sunday: Heading to the city for Sunday Suppers with the parents.
by Kimberly | May 28, 2014 | food
Menu planning is an activity I like to do in our home. I’m glad my husband likes me to do it as well – that he is an adventurous eater! That makes menu planning even more fun.
There are many ways you can plan a menu, but as I’ve been doing it weekly I find there is most flexibility in that for our family. Honestly, I sometimes change mid-week or something comes up and I have to change it, but food usually lasts a week. The reason I don’t like menu planning for a month is I like spontaneity. I don’t like even me having that much control over what I’m going to eat that day.
So, here’s what I do.
Each week I sit down and think through 6 categories (one is leftovers). Sometimes the categories stay the same, and sometimes they change. Here are some samplings of categories I have on my menu list any given week:
Slow-Cooker
Meatless
International (Italian, Mediteranean, Indian, etc)
Date Night (a little more fancy of food that we will eat for dinner once the boys are in bed – and includes a fun dessert for two)
Salad Night
Taco Night
Pizza Night
Cookbook Night (I love cookbooks, but actually usually get my recipes off the internet.)
Brinner (Where we have breakfast for dinner. This one is usually delicious, easy, and inexpensive.)
When I have chosen my categories for the week, then I look at our family calendar. I know Fridays are my husband’s day off – so I either let that one be a slow-cooker day if we are going to be busy or I let that be a day when I have more time to spend in the kitchen because he is home to play with the boys. Maybe we are busy one night, so I need a really easy meal or I know we are going to need to eat early or late that night. Flexibility is the name of the game.
Then I think through what is in season right now. I may make more strawberry, peach, or blackberry foods and tomato and corn meals since we are coming into the summer months. In the fall, I will make more soups with pumpkin and winter squashes and sweet potatoes. This is also a way you can cut the cost down in your food budget.
Then I look through a Bloglovin feed of blogs. I love seeing the artistry which people create new foods and photograph those foods on their tables. It inspires me. Then all I have to do is decide (and narrowing down is sometimes I difficult thing) and ask the Mister if he has any requests that week – and fill in the blanks.
How do you plan your menu?
by Kimberly | May 27, 2014 | creatives
While I anxiously await the updates for this website and all the fun that it will bring – I want to introduce you to my creative side. I know you’ve seen it in photography and cooking, but now you will see it in hand-lettering (which I’ve always loved), calligraphy (picking up from my 7th grade days), and other art.
This is one that I did for a sweet friend of mine. I have several pieces like this around our home because another mutual friend did them. I love, like her, to get the Word into peoples homes and hearts. While I was penning this art I got to pray that a sweet little girl would grow up to love Jesus, make him known, and that she would realize that God made her beautiful – and wonderful. Most of our girls growing up in our society today won’t here that. I think we do need to tell every child that, especially now when they hear so much contrary to that.
How do you get Scripture into your child’s heart? How do you pray over your children?
And I accept custom orders. Email or contact on fb for order information. My Etsy store is KDCcreatives.
