Colorado Crockers

Want to read something about the bible? I just read this and I really liked it. Want to read about parenting? Try this .

If you are the kind who gets uncomfortable discussing money, go ahead and skip this post. If I may mount my soap box for a second just to say I think one of the problems in the church is discomfort with money talk. God calls us to meet people where they are, and most people are in debt, both Christians and non. As the body of Christ, we are called to deal with the hard things in life, like money and sex, with truth and love. There are some great Christian programs out there that deal with these things in a practical way, but it doesn't seem to reach those who really need it, and I would LOVE to see the church honestly tackle this huge issue. Getting off my soap box now. Here is my attempt to deal with money in an honest and open way. I am the one who does the money stuff in our family, not because I like it, just because I suck at it less than Matt does. One of the big motivators to moving away from family and across the country was the perception that it would allow us to make som...

Sunday mornings are hard, and I bet not for the reason your thinking. Every morning, all week long, Matt gets up with the kids. I am not a morning person, and while I don't really get to "sleep in" since Matt has to leave for work, not being on duty first thing helps me enter the day with a better attitude. Sunday Matt sleeps in and I am up to bat. I try to have a good attitude and I find I do better if I have a plan in my head about breakfast and am not trying to problem solve in my cold kitchen with 3 small, loud, hungry people demanding sustenance . Sunday morning us girls got creative. My children are not always great at trying new things food wise, so I thought we would make it a game. We started with something they will all eat, oatmeal, and went from there. The girls chose the mix ins and 2 out of 3 of them tried all varieties. Annabelle wasn't quite as willing to eat everything. To our oatmeal sample tray we added blueberries, apples and cinnamon , nuts and ba...

I am sitting here drinking a cup of coffee, twice warmed in the microwave. The babe-in-belly has the hick-ups. One child is dressed, 2 are not. I am in yoga pants. The girls are playing legos together. It is almost 9. This is my life, pretty much every day. Some days I think I home school because I hate mornings. Though I say that tongue in cheek, there is some merit to it. My family thrives on "slow". My girls enjoy being at home creating games for themselves, helping me tend house, playing outside. We spend our days building, creating, learning, all at our own pace and on our own schedule . Every so often I feel like a sucky home schooler. We only "do school" three days a week. And then only for about an hour and a half. Surly my kid is going to bomb first grade and I will have no one to blame but myself. I am setting her up for a life time of struggling to keep up. And then we do an end of the the year "kindergarten assessment ". Eliana can read, she c...

Elie: (singing) Twinkle, twinkle little star, how I wonder how you are... Me: Elie, it is "what you are" Elie: No, its "how". I know what it is, it is a star, the song says so. Me: true... but I think the song is asking "what" a star is, you know, made of Addilyn: That's easy-peasy, stars are made of God! Addilyn: YOU are not the boss of me, Elie! MOMMY is. Are you the boss of daddy? Me: Ummm. No. Addilyn: Who is the boss of God? Me: God is his own boss Addilyn: that must be nice! Me: (as Annabelle wipes her nose on a stuffed animal) Annabelle, not on that, use your tissue! Annabelle: Its ok mama, it's Addilyns So, how was your morning?

Sorry about the lousy picture. I would love to say I have some great ones, but I didn't feel like hauling my camera around with me. So, I survived my first fashion show! It was a lot of fun, a very cool venue, and it is always a kick to watch Matt get treated like a VIP. We were greeted at the door with VIP passes because we were on "the list". We were escorted to the back where the models were all still in street clothes. The clothing was laid out, press and family were around and Matt chatted with Christian and got some pictures done. They shot some video and asked if I wanted my picture with Matt and Christian, which I did not. I was already towering over my husband in my heals and Christian is a good several inches shorter than Matt! I felt like the overstuffed Jolly Green Giant. We watched the practice walks down the runway, found our seats and waiting for the show. The venue was PACKED. The show was great, I actually really like his stuff. Here is a link if you wan...

Swimming up stream. Non-conformity. Square peg, round hole and all that. I want to live differently that those I see. I want to love more, sacrifice even when it is hard, care when it isn't my business. I want to not give in to the culture of "stuff" that I am surrounded by. I want to be ok with my old car, stained furniture, imperfect wardrobe. I want to be comfortable with the choices I make for my children. If homeschooling means that they are not "socialized" and the kids I interact with are the ones who are, I guess I am ok with my sweet, socially "awkward" children. I want my children to value people above things, to care about kindness more than coolness. An yet. Matt arranged a partnership between Samsung PC's and a well known fashion designer. Samsung will be on the "catwalk" at fashion week in New York. He has tickets. VIP tickets backstage. To fashion week and this designers show. And I am invited. My first thought? What will I...

I try to keep my love of big breasts in check, but man, Costco chickens make me really happy! (where did you think this blog post was going?!) Each Costco trip, about monthly, I buy a rotissery chicken. They are cheap, big and make for quick and easy meals. When I come home, my amazing husband pulls all the meat off and tosses the bones/skin/parts into a big crock pot with some onions, water and other yummys and makes a fabulous batch of stock. (Hint: toss in a few tablespoons of vinegar. It will pull minerals from the bones and cook off so you don't taste it. Very nutritious!) The stock is then cooked all night, frozen and pulled out for soup, risotto or other things. Now for all that yummy cooked chicken, just waiting for inspiration! Sometimes it just becomes a batch of chicken salad for lunches. Other times it gets tossed on raw spinach with other veggies for a dinner salad. This week, I was needing a Mexican fix, which happens a lot on the East coast. While we might have some ...