Raising Hands

Image: Netflix   After avoiding 13 Reasons Why since its release a few weeks ago. I sat down and watched it over a few days recently and have been trying to process it ever since.  The show is told in a gripping and suspenseful way. The young actors all deliver powerful performances, I couldn't stop watching. That, I'm afraid is where any praise for the series ends. Right up front, I should point out that my experience with the material is based on only watching the Netflix interpretation. I have not read the novel by Jay Asher. My biggest criticism of the show goes hand in hand with our biggest opportunity as Christian parents to learn from whatever message we're meant to receive by watching or reading about this series. And here's the best part. You don't need to watch it to get it! (and neither do your kids in spite of what the actors involved are saying.) Here it is. Are you ready? Take your family to church. Your whole family. Every Sunday. B...

Our oldest turned eight earlier this month. His birthday is almost the beginning of the month so we always celebrate as a family before school goes back. This year we also gave him a party for his friends to attend. Since we're all about Star Wars lately we had an afternoon at the movies.  Our local movie theater offers a variety of party packages. We chose to utilize their private screening room and bring in our own movie. We watched the original Star Wars Episode IV. My thought was for some kids this may be their first exposure so why not start at the beginning. Also, as a parent nearly all of us are familiar with this film, and they could make a judgement about whether it was appropriate for their child or not.  The theater provided all the popcorn we could eat (which was a LOT!) and I found these adorable popcorn bags at Michael's. A few doors down from the theater is a pretzel shop where I picked up a party tray with dipping sauces.  ...

A couple of years ago I wrote about how my husband and I met . Today, we celebrate nine years of marriage. I find myself reflecting on what makes a marriage strong enough to stand the test of time? The top of my list would be to abandon the notion that you're married to your best friend. Christian marriage has no room for that. "Marriage is a picture of Christ's love for His bride, the Church" ( LSB).  Jesus is not our friend. He is our Lord, our protector, his love so sincere that he sacrificed himself for us and died a horrible brutal death so that our sins would be forgiven and that we might live. That is why the vows we say are different from the vows our husbands say. A man does not promise to be our best buddy and faithfully sit beside us to watch Downton Abbey each week (Kudos if he does). Instead, our husbands vow to nourish and cherish us as Christ loved the church. To give himself up for us and to never forsake us for as long we live. With these precious w...

It's Friday, the weekend is fast approaching and Winter weather seems to have finally arrived. For those of us in the Mid-Atlantic, it means we've entered our rainy season. Outside play gets tricky around here but more worrisome is the cabin fever that quickly follows. Enter Go Noodle ! Our son's second-grade teacher gave me a great gift over the Winter break and I just can't keep it to myself. A free website full of short organized physical activities totally suitable for indoor play. From silly songs with guided dance moves to Shawn T style exercise routines to Zumba. If your need to bring the hype level down they have videos for that too. Stretching and yoga, breathing and relaxing. But if you are my kids? They're all about the Kidz Bop dance videos. Even the littlest little can get in on the action. I wish I had known about this when we were homeschooling. It's such a great way to just get the wiggles out if someone is feeling antsy. Or a producti...

This post is not going to be full of ridiculous resolutions but rather a short and sweet kick off to 2016. Oh, don't get me wrong. I have a personal laundry list of accomplishments I hope to check off my list this year but they're mostly boring. I will say that I will be here more often and hope to connect with you in a variety of ways. I'll be sharing blog content and related posts on the Raising Hands Facebook page .  I've also created a blog only Instagram account @Raising_Hands_ You can still following my @Delawaremama feed for what's happening with the family.  I dipped my toes into the waters of Periscope last year and had fun. Look for me there @Delawaremama For Christmas, I received an amazing new camera. That should improve the pictures around here too! No more pictures from my phone!  Well maybe one last picture I'm excited to see what 2016 will bring. Thanks for stopping by. Come back soon! Happy New Year!! ...

As 2015 draws to a close I find myself reflecting on our whirlwind of a year. I never seem to get my act together to write a Christmas letter but since it's still actually Christmas here we go.  Stephen continues his work as Director of Leadership and Organizational Development as well as pursuing a Doctorate. Needless to say he stays busy and is always making the most of his free time to get in as many tickles, hugs, and snuggles with the kiddos as he can.  Jacob is in second grade and growing in confidence and independence. He began taking piano lessons in the Fall and it's taking Mom right back in time listening to him practice. Even learning with same method books! When he's not doing homework or practicing piano Jacob is playing/watching/talking about Star Wars and/or Legos. He is also a great reader. His current favorites are the Gironamo Stilton series. Mom has also started reading Harry Potter. We're all enjoying that.  William is in Kindergarten. He is sweet an...

Yesterday I left you with a bit of homework. Did you do it? I spent last night going through my stack of Barefoot Contessa books and focusing on finding a new root vegetable dish to try, and I have one tomato dish that is just as delicious as it is beautiful. Here's the thing about Ina Garten. Most people associate her style of cooking with memes like this one. It's hilarious because it feels true but when you spend some time reading her books you'll quickly learn that she is all about comfortable and effortless entertaining. Martha Stewart writes in the foreword of the Barefoot Contessa Cookbook, "There is a liveliness in Ina's cooking, a total lack of finickiness, a reliance on the freshest and best, and a casualness that I know will be appealing to everyone who uses her book". I don't just read her cookbooks for the recipes and gorgeous photography. Ms. Garten is a really good writer to boot! In the opening pages of Barefoot in Paris  she tells ...

It's that time of year again. The time when many mugs of tea and coffee are consumed whilst pouring over trusty cookbooks. For some of you, Thanksgiving menus are set in stone. There are certain dishes that are expected to be on the table. That's another post entirely. Today is all about finding ways to incorporate new dishes into your menu and feeling good about it. In my early teens, our family traditions became more fluid. That is, it became our tradition to be untraditional. This wasn't intentional, it was life. What it instilled in me though was that the people around us on a special day are what matter, and while serving the perfect meal and sitting down to the perfectly set table is wonderful. It's not requisite to showing gratitude. Let me explain. One year my high school marching band had the opportunity to participate in the big holiday parade in Chicago, Illinois. My family and I took the train in early to take in some sights and assumed that we would hav...

Do you know the book If you Give a Mouse a Cookie ? Well, that could have been the story for this bathroom renovation. It all began with a hole in the bathtub. The previous owner had attempted to fill it with some sort of caulk in can business. You know the commercial where the guy puts a screen door in the bottom of a boat, sprays some magic goo et voila! He's rowing off into the sunset. Yeeeah, that stuff. Thank goodness it worked, in this case. No structural issues or water damage. We got to skip right to the fun part. Once we determined to replace the tub, it only made sense to refresh the flooring. The peel and stick tiles had seen better days and to replace the flooring the toilet had to come out, and while we're at it that vanity is awful......See where I'm going with this? We took it all out and put all new back in. I've never had the opportunity to take a completely black canvas and make it my own. I had a blast! I have to admit too that I'm a little jeal...

Here at the beach you can find lots of the usual sea side fair. Fish, and seafood, pizza and boardwalk fries. But when it comes to ethnic cuisine choices are limited. So I am forced to take matters into my own hands. As a child every so often we made a trek from Lansing, to Greek Town in Detroit, and ate at this dive of a place called, The Golden Fleece. Even though it boasted the same decor my mother remembers from her trips there as a girl, and probably hadn't changed for twenty years before that this place, hands down, had the best food in Greek town. For dinner last night I was really craving a good gyro. I hate when I order one now and find those processed prepackaged strips of beef unceremoniously tossed on top of some pita and called a gyro. Sometimes I'm so desperate for those flavors I order it anyway. In the absence of owning a vertical spit these gyros will be grilled and made from chicken instead of the traditional lamb and beef. I've experimented with mari...

I'm a sucker for a good copycat recipe. I've been suckered by so-called copycat recipes in the past too. This is not the later. This one is for real! I pinned it ages ago but after an unfortunate incident involving what were supposed to be Texas Roadhouse Rolls I've been hesitant of late. The recipe  is simple but the secret ingredient is both surprising and brilliant. Dill Pickle Juice! I followed the recipe closely with only a couple exceptions and doubled it as it's only written for two. The true test was when our five year old completely unprompted asked if they were Chick-fil-a nuggets. I say they were even better because it didn't cost us $40! What you need: 2 large chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces then seasoned with salt & pepper 3/4 cup milk (I used buttermilk) 1/4 cup dill pickle juice 1 egg 1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour  2 Tablespoons powdered sugar 2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon pepper 1/2 cup peanut oil, divided (or canola or ve...

Well, it's really a BLTBS salad but I didn't think that would get your attention. Yes, BS stands for Brussel Sprouts and before you abandon me let me tell you that they are caramelized in rendered bacon fat. See? Trust me. I would never lead you astray. The salad is dressed with the rocking homemade vinaigrette for t his BLT Bowl and provided the inspiration for this salad. Here's what you need (serves two): 4 slices of bacon cut into one inch pieces 1 bag of fresh whole brussel sprouts or one small-med stalk 1 small onion salad greens of your choice (I like the cold crunch of romaine) 1 tomato diced 2 Tbl spoons olive oil 1 Tbl spoon balsamic vinegar (plus a splash for the sprouts) 1 teaspoon djion mustard 2 Tbl spoons lemon juice salt to taste What to do: Cook the cut bacon on med/low heat in a cast iron pan if you have one. Be patient with it.  You want to render as much fat as you can and get your bacon bits as crispy as you can. If you don't have...

So, it's no surprise we eat a lot of chicken at our house. That doesn't mean I don't get stuck in the occasional chicken rut. I was completely lacking inspiration last night and nothing sounded good so I took to my Pinterest board (I mean, that's why I spend hours on Pinterest right?!) and found this recipe I pinned a while back. It boasted the best chicken in the world. We'll just see about that! The recipe is simple enough and cooks in a flash. Which was a good thing as we were having an impromptu family supper with the hubby's folks. I filleted the chicken breast to make sure they cooked in time and soaked up more flavor from the delicious sauce. I also doubled the measurements for the sauce as I started with twice as much chicken. Other than that I followed the recipe as written.  What you need: 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts  1/2 cup Dijon mustard  1/4 maple syrup 1Tbl spoon red wine vinegar  Salt Pepper Fresh chopped Rosemary ...

I'm mobile at the moment. Can't decide where the Big Mac (see what I did there?) should live in the new house.  I've just had one of those rare moments as a parents when my incredibly high hopes and expectations for an event matches what actually takes place.  There's a local restaurant which is home to two antique train cars which have been restored and turned into dining rooms with five huge screens for movie viewing. At Christmas they run five showings a day of the Polar Express to sold out train cars. We didn't make it this year but we're already making plans after tonight.  Last weekend we learned that they have been having breakfast and dinner showings of Frozen complete with visits from the Anna and Elsa and this weekend were the final three days. I just had to take Bella. So we made a girls night out of it. It was magical. Bella acted out every line of dialogue and sang every song. She was mesmerized by her visit with Anna and Elsa (who could not have be...

When I was a kid everything about Christmas was beautiful and fun and exciting. Now that I'm older, and a Mom. Those things still hold true but in different ways. I certainly appreciate how hard my Mom worked to make every Christmas magical for us kids. What's struck me more and more is that this time of year can also be an emotional minefield. Once seemingly happy or tender memories become bittersweet. Some down right painful (I've written about it before ). For me, these memories usually have to do with my grandmother. She went home to her Heavenly Father eleven years ago today.  A Hymn in church, the cookies I bake from her recipe. The scent of the hand lotion I use everyday (the same she used) trigger a flood of tears. Suddenly she's everywhere and the dull ache of her absence is as raw and painful as it was a decade ago. This happened recently in a big way when I got so excited to watch one of my favorite old movies on TV. Meet Me in St. Louis. I wa...