The Bright Eyed Brunette

 When I was in the youth choir at church, we used to sing a song called, "Humbly Grateful or Grumbly Hateful".  It went a little something like this: Are you humbly grateful or grumbly hateful? What's your attitude? Do you grumble and groan or let it be known you're grateful for all God's done for you?   If we're being real for a minute, somedays just feel made for grumbling. The coffee spills. The laundry multiplies like rabbits. Somebody leaves dishes in the sink when you just washed them. The weather can't decide what season it wants to be. Before we know it, we're all muttering under our breath about everything from sore backs to slow drivers.  Paul comes right in with a verse that honestly feels impossible some days: "Do everything without grumbling and arguing."  Everything? Surely, he didn't mean family group texts or church misunderstandings, or Mondays before caffeine. But there it is. Everything. I don't think God gave us t...

 Hey friends! It's been a while since I've done a link-up, so today I am linking up with  Shay  and  Sheaffer  for this month's What's Up Wednesday! What We're Eating This Week... Summer cook-out food!! Monday we had fried fish, french-fries, fried biscuits, and hushpuppies. Tuesday we grilled out hamburgers and hot dogs, had chips and cheese dip with corn on the cob. And of course we had watermelon! I just love everything about a good *summer* cook-out! What I'm Reminiscing About... I am reminiscing mostly about all of the fun summers from when my kids were younger. It can be hard to be a mom at home with all of your kids in the summer. But I think over all we had some pretty great summers! What We've Been Up To... As we've drawn to the end of another school year, we have also come to the end of our youth programs at church. I know I have talked about it before, but it is a welcomed sight to me! I still teach Sunday School, and I will be teaching this y...

 Happy Tuesday! Yay for short weeks!! We had a laid-back weekend around here. It wasn't sunny at all, which kind of sucked, but at least it wasn't raining the entire weekend. It did most of the day of Friday, so we just hung out here after everyone made it home. I'm not sure if it was the weather or something in the air, but I was just in a funk for the majority of the week, which is why my blogging fell by the wayside after Tuesday. Anyway, back to the weekend! Carl and Trey were both off on Saturday but Makena had to work. After they worked on his boat for an hour or two, we went to the river to test it out. Carl and I were just in the aluminum fishing boat just in case he had trouble. It wasn't not pretty outside, and to be honest it was a little chilly! The only picture I took. It runs and he is pretty happy with it. That's a WIN...until he decides to change something :) Sunday was church day. This was an extra special Sunday because Trey got to preach in our ev...

 As promised, I come to you today with: DESSERTS! There's just something about summer cookouts that makes everybody suddenly save room for dessert. Maybe it's the smell of burgers on the grill, kids running through the yard, or the fact that somebody always says, "I couldn't eat another bite," right before grabbing a plate of banana pudding. The Classics We All Secretly Hope Somebody Brings Let's start with the obvious heroes of the cookout dessert world. Banana pudding? Absolutely. Brownies cut into uneven squares because someone couldn't wait? Necessary. A big tray of cookies that have melted just enough in the heat to somehow taste even better? Perfection. And then there is watermelon. Listen, technically it's a fruit, but at a cookout, it absolutely counts as a dessert! Especially when it's ice cold and dripping down your arm while you stand around talking to people you may only see a few times a year. Desserts That Feel Like Summer Summer dess...

Hello friends and happy Monday! I took last week off from blogging so I could catch up on a few things but now I'm back with a few BBQ ideas for your summer. A few are classic, a few are slightly odd in a good way, and all of them belong outside with paper plates! (Note: these are just ideas and not recipes) 1) Classic Cheeseburgers I'll admit it: I'm picky about burgers, mostly because dry ones make me feel personally insulted. Use 80/20 ground beef, form those patties, season right before grilling, and don't squash them like you're mad at them. Add cheese during the final minute so it melts without turning into a waxy blanket. If you set out onions, pickles, and mustard, people will act like you hired catering. 2) Grilled Hot Dogs Hot dogs are underrated because they're easy, and easy gets mistaken for boring. Grill them until they blister a bit, then pile on onions you've cooked until they're sweet and a little smokey. I like setting out a "toppi...

 Happy Monday! I hope all of you mothers were spoiled and treated like the queens you are! I had a great weekend. Carl is pretty good about making it special for me. My kids were all over the place on Saturday, and Carl was off, so we spent the day together :) We went shopping, grilled out for lunch and supper, and spent some time at the pool. I also helped my mom get things ready for Mother's Day lunch at her house on Sunday. Sweet Makena brought me home a delicious fun drink from our local dirty drink place, The Quack Shack (she had to work all day) and gave me her gift early and Trey came home in time for supper and gave me his gift (it's funny how the smell of food always brings him home!). Sunday was church day. Carlie and Wrenley came out and brought me a gift, and we went to church (Caleb was at the fire station). We refreshments for moms between Sunday School and Morning Worship. After lunch at my parent's, I came home and did exactly what I wanted...NAP! Here are a...

 Hey guys, we're half-way through the week again! I want to share a yummy budget friendly recipe with you all that I first saw on TikTok. It hits all of the major points: quick, tastes great, and easy on the pocketbook!  I'm not sure if this has an official name, so we'll just call this Easy Cheddar Chicken and Rice. Here's What You'll Need 2 packages of Knorr Cheddar Broccoli flavored rice 2 cans of cream of chicken soup 1 can of chicken broth (fill chicken soup can) 2 cups of shredded cheddar cheese 1 bag of frozen chopped broccoli 1 package of chicken tenderloins salt, pepper, and onion powder to taste Here's How To Make It Step 1: Get a 11x9 casserole dish and spray it with non-stick spray Step 2: Pour your 2 packages of rice in the dish followed by your 2 cream of chicken soups and chicken              broth. Stir. Step 3: Add bag of broccoli and top with cheddar cheese. Step 4: Season your chicken tenderloins well. Step 4: Top with Chee...

 Some days, if I’m being honest, my Christian life feels a little… phony baloney. Not in the “I don’t believe any of this” kind of way—but in the quieter, more uncomfortable way. The kind where I’m singing in church on Sunday with heart stirred… and then by Tuesday I’m impatient, distracted, and wondering if anything I said or felt was even real. It’s that strange tension between who I want to be and who I actually am. I know the right words. I know the verses. I know how to show up, smile, serve, and say all the “faith-filled” things. But sometimes underneath it all, there’s a nagging voice that whispers, “You’re just going through the motions.” And maybe that’s what makes it feel so fake—not that my faith isn’t real, but that it isn’t as consistent, passionate, or polished as I think it should be. But the thing I’ve had to wrestle with—and honestly, relearn over and over again is that feelings don’t get to be the measuring stick. We live in a world that tells us if something is...

 Happy Monday, friends! It has been a great weekend here on the homestead. Carl, Makena, and I worked at our community center's annual barbeque. Makena has recently been voted in on the board of the community center, so we decided we would go and mingle. Yes, you read that right. I made the choice to be social! It's the miracle of May! The ladies of our church also had a bake sale at the BBQ, so I helped with that.  Wrenley found her some popcorn (and Nanny) at the bake sale. She LOVES popcorn (and Nanny)!! Makena helped with the ticket sales My dad, the ticket ladies, and some of our "runners" for the takeout plates. Our cooks! Picking out baked goods can be a hard choice! These are our old neighbors. I snapped this picture as they were pulling in the takeout line. Wrenley wanted to go play on the playground. This is the same tire I used to spin around on as a kid. Carl is always visiting with someone. We tease him and say he's running for mayor :) More visiting ...