Fun On The Farm

We just got home from a fun-filled time at my parent's farm and family reunion. Wow, it was great to see cousins and family that I never get to see.

Whenever we are at the farm, there are lots of smiles. My kids are so happy. Full bellies, filthy feet, and happy faces. Nana, G'pa, Gram, G'ma, and PawPaw take such good care of us.

I didn't take nearly enough pix and the ones I did take are not that great. The photographer of the family had to stay behind this time. But here a few to give you a taste of the action.
See this table? This is the table we had when I was a kid. It was funny to see it again. Somehow it seems smaller now...

Hay rides. And quite a few too!

Check out Mayfee in Uncle Jim's wig.

My dad and his brothers.

I like this picture.

Horseback riding!

Lots of yummy food!

A visit to a miniture horse farm.

Isn't he the cutest guy you've ever seen?

(The horse was cute too.)

Thank you to my awesome family for putting this on. I LOVED it.

Lots of smiles.

Lots of hugs.

Lots of memories!

Day Camping For 45 Minutes

Isn't he beautiful? This was taken on the water at Lake FSM this week. Our family packed a lunch and loaded up in the van for a fun day.

Playing Hide & Seek.

I LOVE this picture of her!

Me and my man. 10 minutes before departure.

And a picnic.

But THEN!

My man got a kidney stone and we had to leave asap. :(

But he's better now so maybe we can go back soon.

Moods Of A Tuesday

Fuming mad at people with no sense of urgency while my husband writhes in pain with a kidney stone in the ER.

Scared to death driving on new tires that are not what we expected. Unfamiliar winding highway, big trucks zooming by, wind, bridges over water.

Irritated with too many words.

Tired of people freaking out.

Disappointed that I wake up hurting every morning.

In disbelief that I mailed 3 (!) three books to the wrong person on PaperBackSwap.

Sad that I don't handle things the way I should.

And why was this my attitude of the day? Because I took my eyes off the One who brings perfect peace and kept them on myself and my circumstances. I hate that.

No peace. No thankfulness. No joy.

Henry Ward Beecher said, "A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves. "

And that's what it comes down to. Me, wanting more. Me, unsatisfied. Me, unthankful.

When the truth is there is joy in the hurting, joy in the sadness, joy in the fright, joy in the struggles. But I don't see it when I take my eyes off God. I only see poor me. And I point fingers. And blame. And say things that I shouldn't type. And you shouldn't read. Sad.

But I serve a God who is love. And brings these struggles to me in order to draw me closer to Him. What mercy! To work all things together for good! All things. To bring me good and Him glory.

Oh Lord, let me receive it with gratitude instead of throwing a fit. Help me keep in step with the Spirit.

And I also serve a God whose mercies are new every morning. Morning is only hours away. And I pray that I will walk in love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfuless, gentleness, and self-control.

Lookin Gooood!

Saturday night was full of getting-ready-for-church-tomorrow stuff.
You know...straighten the house, pick clothes, find the other shoe, etc.

This guy comes to me all stylin' with his hair slicked back and asked me how he looked.

This guy who balks at taking a bath.

This guy who never wears shoes. Or a shirt.

This guy who is usually sticky somewhere.

I told him how handsome he was and how proud I was of him for fixing his hair himself.

Smile.

Sunday morning rolls around and he's in my bathroom asking for hair gel.

I watch him wondering what he's going to do with it.

First he fills up the sink and dunks his whole head in. I'm surprised he didn't need to hold his nose.

Then he takes one spot in the front and gels it straight up.

And works with it.

In front of my mirror.

On a Sunday morning.

He says, "Momma, my hair won't do what I want it to do!"

Really? Didn't know 8yo boys said things like that.

After 15 minutes he figured out how to stick a comb in it to make it stay until the gel dried.

That's how he looked the rest of the morning.

When it was time to leave for church he was so impressed with himself that he had to pull down the visor so he could admire his hairdo all the way to church.

My boy is growing up.

Good lookin' Bud!

Ruined!

Tonight's dinner was taco salad. It's one of my new faves. I was also using canned chili beans which I much prefer over homemade. Bonus.

My plate was done. Taco salad assembled. And it was beautiful.

Just one last final touch. A twist of the sea salt shaker on top with some fresh ground pepper.

But OH NO! The lid came off the shaker on top of my plate. ALL OVER the beautifulness!
And there was no picking it all off. Which of course was what I tried to do first because I'm cheap so I wouldn't waste it.

Moral of the story: Don't buy your sea salt shakers at the dollar store!

It's Harder Than It Looks!

There are two tiny joints that when they are outa whack at the same time makes even the simplest task a chore. It's the wrist and bottom joint of the thumb. Then things you've always done without a single thought require some creativity.

Today was story time Wednesday. Happy kids!

We were working on a craft that was sort of like a paper chain. I was helping our littlest kids and found that I could NOT work the stapler. My older son was at the other table working on his own craft and unable to help. So I kept at it.

It wasn't long before I realized I was being watched. Another mom was standing behind me patiently waiting for the stapler. What to do? I just smiled and passed it over to her and wondered why we couldn't use glue. At that point the librarian went to get another stapler.

The mom stapled her kid's paper with the greatest of ease as I looked on admiringly. Really...like how strong and graceful she was and didn't even know it.

When I got it back I was able to work it on the edge, stand up, and put my shoulder into it.
Done!

Not as gracefully, but done just the same.

Saturday In The Kitchen

Round these parts it was pretty chilly yesterday. I wore my winter coat to the soccer games and we came home and made a fire! In the middle of MAY....unheard of. But nice.

I was in the mood to play in the kitchen. Kids and hubby were happy. Food in pantry.

Game on.

I was really in the mood to try some new foods for me. I figure the better I get at making my food, the sooner it'll be their food, right?

First was some vegan hot chocolate. Just an experiment. Almond milk, Agave, and cocoa powder in the Blendtek. Hit the soup button twice and it's hot and foamy. Mmmmm.....

I wish I could think of something to make it thicker. Without cream or coffee creamer it lacks the thickness of "real" hot chocolate. It did NOT lack the taste though!

Then came the home run of the day. I've been eyeing this recipe for some time but finally gave it a shot yesterday. WHY did I wait so long?? Boring to photograph but ohhhhh so good. And the kids were asking for it in place of their regular granola. I didn't have all the ingredients (for most of the recipes I made) but found some good subs. This is one that I'm gonna have fun playing with.

Gluten Free Granola
9 C puffed rice cereal (not Rice Crispies but the brown rice puffed kind)
1/2 C. each...pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds
1/4 C. flax seeds
1/3 C. sesame seeds
1/2 C. each...almonds, pecans, cashews
3/4 C. oil
1/2 C. honey
1/3 C. sucanat (or brown sugar)
1 tsp each...cinnamon, salt, vanilla

Mix dry ingredients. Mix wet ingredients along with salt and cinnamon in a sauce pan. Bring to a boil and pour over cereal mixture. Bake at 250 for about 45 min. stirring every 10 min.

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Rinsed out the Blendtek and made some lemon juice. This isn't a recipe, just an easy go-to thing for me instead of always squeezing lemons. I use a lot of lemons! So I just peel them like oranges and juice the whole things in the blender and store in a jar. Then whenever I need it it's ready to use.

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Next was a salad dressing recipe from a friend of mine. I already had it made up in the pantry but decided to experiment and made it creamy. So I blended it up with some mayo (Veganaise). Just right!

Sweet & Sour Dressing (Paula Deen)
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil (I use canola or olive and reduce the amount some.)
3/4 cup vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon celery seed (I leave this out sometimes and it is still good)
1 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
1 1/2 teaspoon paprika
1 1/2 teaspoon grated onion (I leave this out to keep it simple)

Combine all ingredients, shake well and refrigerate.

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At this point, I had kiddos that were restless and wanting to help. So I put them to work slicing olives for Olive Tapenade. I'll just use this on top of salads. The recipe says to chop it fine and use it as a dip for crackers. As soon as I find a GF cracker recipe I like, I'll try it on that.
Olive Tapenade

1 clove garlic minced
1 C. black olives, drained
1 C. green olives, drained
1 C. sun-dried tomatoes

Pulse in food processor

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Then there was Quinoa Tabbouleh.

Not impressed. Big loser.

Spaghetti for dinner and I made a spaghetti squash for me.

ME who does NOT eat squash!

And I even liked it.

Things are a changin!

The Last Awana

It's been a whole school year since I posted this.

A whole school year since I got my first little group of 2nd graders.

A whole school year of helping these little ppl memorize God's Word.

A whole school year since I've fallen in love with these little ppl.

A whole school year of praying for them.

And, WOW, a lot has happened in several months. Faces have changed. And some have stayed the same. We've prayed for loose teeth, and lost dogs, bad grades, and lots of sick grandmas.

And oh, have I been blessed! Over and over and over again.

CRAZY BOYS!!
Proud of those awards!

Thank you little Awana peeps!

Thank you to the parents for letting them come.

Thank you Immanuel for letting us participate.

And thank you to my Honey and kids for encouraging us and holding down the fort!

Looking forward to next year!

PS. It was an amazing way to end the year tonight. A whole room of around 60 kiddos were quiet and still whole Geo preached the gospel message clearly and simply. Kids were dismissed to games unless they wanted to stay and talk to a teacher about their relationship to God.

Two stayed. And I had the privilege of praying with a 12yo boy to receive Jesus! On the last day!! Hallelujah!

Learning To Ripstick!

Go Mally Bird!

Thanks LB for being a sweet sister!

Miscellaneous Monday

A new week! And I'm happy. Happy that I have another day with my family. Happy that I'm still walking. Happy that I don't have a lot of errands this week. Happy that I get to take dinner to a friend tomorrow. Happy that Honey and I get to spend a whole morning together on Wed.

~I've started doing my Bible notes on my computer. I've always used a notebook. But I love using my computer b/c I can organize it better on different pages. It's also easier on my hands.

~This week I'm starting a prayer book with my kids. I'm excited about it b/c I think we're all going to learn a lot.

~Did you have a good mother's day? I did! My family is so sweet to me. I love being their momma.

~I've been trying to exercise better. Tutoring is good now b/c there's a nice place to walk with sidewalks. It ends up at the library so I can also knock that errand out if need be. I can usually walk that route 3 times before Lane is done.

~Books I'm reading...
The Love Dare (a repeat)
First We Have Coffee (another repeat of like 20 times)
Forgotten God (Lane's new book she's letting me borrow)
Desiring God's Own Heart (my Bible study book on 1 Samuel)
Some Summer (tea time book)
The Hiding Place (out loud to the girls)

~Some Summer is a book I read aloud to my older kids when they were little. It's a fun book about a group of boys that have a great summer building a club house. It was requested again by my older ones so their little brothers could enjoy it. It makes my momma heart happy when they ask for special things for one another. And they are right, the little brothers are loving it too.

~We bought something new at the farmer's market. It looks like a turnip but I can't remember what the guy said it was called. It sat in the fridge for awhile as I thought of what to do with it. Last night Honey cooked it up in our fried rice. LOVED it! It tastes like water chestnuts and the leafy green tops were yummy too. We cooked the greens in the rice too, but they would also be good in salad. I'll be getting more of those this week! It's fun to try something new.

The farmer's market is spoiling me. I shop the produce section at the grocery store now and balk at the puny lettuce and the tiny green onions....and the price I have to pay for it! I have to make a point of getting an earlier start on Saturday so I don't miss it again.

~2 nights of not sleeping well. Makes for a tired day. Yesterday my family let me take a big nap. I don't think that'll happen today though. I'm hoping for an early bed time.

Today's meals....
Breakfast - cereal
Lunch - salad, fruit, and homemade bread
Dinner - Garlic pasta (new!)
Tea - Coffee Cake

Here And There

I miss you oh therapeutic blog you! But I've been busy living life instead of blogging it. Happy to be here now though!

~Ya know I think if I could stay home all day every day I would be perfectly content. I do think that once school is out, things will settle down. At least after June, right?

~VBS is coming along so well. And I find myself getting really excited when I think past the planning stages and into the actual kids. Brand new kiddos that might have never heard of Jesus! Who will they be? I just remember meeting my VBS/Awana peeps last year and I'm so extremely thankful they are in my life.

~The past 2 weeks my eldest son has been coming to Awana too. I love hearing him talk about the night on the way home. I love seeing him interact sweetly with the little ones. I love Awana....did ya'll know that already? Anyway, this will be our last week. Games and party night. Fun fun. And I would be really sad if it were really and truly over, BUT there will still be goodness on Wed nights through the summer and I'm counting on them being there.

~Summer! There is so much fun planned this summer.
A big family reunion
VBS times 2
G'ma and G'pa camping out in FSM
A trip to Branson (?)
Farmers Market!
A visit from Tate (?)

~My daughter asked me what I was reading these days. All I could answer was "1 Samuel".
THAT is weird. I haven't even been reading any books? What have I been doing? Oh yeah, reading cookbooks. How boring is that? Well actually I love cookbooks, but still.
I need something else. But what?? I can't think of a single thing I wanna read that is on my shelf.

~I made a new pizza tonight. BBQ Chicken. The kids loved it, except he who despises BBQ sauce. Whose kid is that anyway? I also made a garlic sauce that tastes quite a bit like that garlic butter stuff from Papa Johns. Honey ate it with his veggie wrap and I dipped cucumbers in it. We'll be seeing that one at the table quite a bit.

Garlic Cashew Sauce

About 1 cup of cashews
3/4 C Water
1 1/2 C. olive oil
1/2 lemon
1 garlic clove (I might use 2 next time)
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Blend cashews and water for about a minute. Add everything else and blend until smooth.

~OH guess what! I got a new blender! Did I tell you that already?? A fancy schmancy red one that makes hot soup AND ice cream. Ice cream ya'll! As in vegan ice cream too. I know!
I'm in love....

~We got to babysit a friend's baby tonight. It was sweet having a baby in the house! I loved his little baby noises.

~It's Friday night and at our house that means you get to sleep wherever you want. So I have 2 pop up tents in my room. One puppy dog one and one dinosaur one. They are blocking each entrance to the bathroom. That could be dangerous!!

Hannah's Prayer

Have you ever looked at Hannah's prayer in 1 Samuel 2? I mean really looked at it?
The Old Testament is where we learn much of the nature and characteristics of our God. And Hannah's prayer is full of life lessons and God's attributes.

Let's look....

~She starts with her own personal praise telling how her heart exults in the Lord, her strength is exalted in Him, and her mouth derides her enemies b/c she rejoices in His salvation.

Powerful is the mouth that derides enemies b/c of God. Our enemy is real and is like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. (1Peter 5:8)

~There is none holy like the Lord. No rock like our God.

He is above all things and there is nothing/no one His equal.

~The bows of the mighty are broken, but the feeble bind on strength.

~Those who are hungry are full.

~The barren has children.

~The Lord kills and brings to life.

~He makes poor and makes rich.

~He brings low and He exalts.

I love this part...
~He raises up the poor from the dust; he lifts the needy from the ash heap to make them sit with princes and inherit a seat of honor. (1Sam 2:8)

Is that you? Have you been raised from the ash heap to sit with the Prince?

~All belong to Him. And he has set the world on the pillars of the earth.

~He will guard the feet of His faithful ones.

~The wicked shall be cut off in darkness, for not by might shall a man prevail.

And finally..
~”The adversaries of the Lord shall be broken to pieces; against them he will thunder in heaven. The Lord will judge the ends of the earth; he will give strength to his king and exalt the power of his anointed.” 1 Sam 2:9-10

PRAISE GOD!!

Veggie Broth

Do you make vegetable broth? I tried it once last year but I didn't really know how to do it so I just guessed. It was watery and flavorless.

Oh well, why bother? Besides I was pretty good at making chicken and beef broths.

But now that vegetable broth is a necessity, I decided it was time to really learn to do it right. I wish I could remember the name of this HUGE cookbook I checked out of the library. Seriously, it was over 1000 pages and as heavy as a dictionary. Anyway, it gave such clear step-by-step directions to make it super easy.

Did you know that you don't need to peel your garlic first? You can just cut a whole head across so that the meat of every clove is exposed and throw the whole thing in..paper skins and all. Did you know that?? I didn't.

Now I keep a jar in my fridge for all my vegetable scraps. Onion tops (skin and all), lettuce cores, potato peelings, whatever.

When it's full, I throw the contents in a pot, clean out the fridge for all veggies that are on the edge and need to be eaten, cut open a head of garlic, add some bay leaves, peppercorns, and whatever fresh herbs I have. I add just enough water to barely cover everything and usually cook this in the crockpot all day.

When it's finished and cooled, I strain it through a colander and pour it into jars for the freezer. It's rich and colorful, flavorful, and full of nutrients. I don't usually add salt. This gives me more freedom in spicing up whatever I'm cooking later.

Why didn't I figure this one out a long time ago? Just think of all the scraps I've wasted!!

Delicious and nutritious! Give it a try.

Dentist!

No cavities!

He looks huge in this chair! My boy is growing up.

Sweet girl humoring her momma while getting a fluoride treatment.

No cavities!

Ok, this was ZBoy's first trip to the dentist. He has been so excited that he was counting down the sleeps until Monday!

Waiting patiently for his turn...

A do-it-yourselfer.

And no cavities!

And while we're here we might as well yank some wiggly teeth, don't ya think?

Oh how Momma loves these gangly smiles!!
And some more!
And no cavities!

We're good for another 6 months.

Resurrection Cookies!

We make these cookies every year for Easter.

It's a super simple cookie recipe where each ingredient represents a portion of the Easter story.

I gather them all up and help with the recipe while someone else reads the Scripture that goes with it. This year our reader was LB.

A cup of sugar representing the sweetness of Jesus.

Making white peaks to remind of the fact that when we are forgiven it is as though we are white as snow.

The cookies go in the oven (tomb) to wait for morning.

Each little cookie represents the tomb where Jesus was laid. And in the morning they will be puffy and hollow. Empty inside just like the real tomb when His disciples discovered that He is RISEN!!

"Ranch" Dressing

You gotta try this! My family loves it and my oldest son even says it's better than store bought dressing....which is the highest compliment around here. Sick, I know.

But really I'm posting this for my nephew, who has some food issues going on and *needs* this!
Believe me, when you're missing your favorite pizza or canned ravioli *insert whimper* any kind of condiment just makes life a bit more bearable.

So here ya go Tate!

1/2 cup white beans
1/2 cup mayo (or Veganaise)
1/4 C. milk (almond or rice or soy)
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 T olive oil
1/4 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp parsley

Give it all whirl in the blender and keep it in a jar in the fridge.

We put this on everything...potatoes, taco salad, tuna...and of course lettuce. :-)

Awana Sweets

I am so proud of my boys!

Although I've done the wordless book with them lots of times, it had been awhile since I had brought it. So last week I remembered.

I decided to offer them a chance at doing it for the class. I really wasn't sure what kind of response I'd get. I figured there would be a couple who would want no part of it.

Boy was I wrong!

Every boy. Every single little boy wanted to do it! And you know what? They did it beautifully!

As in ..... MY BOYS CAN PRESENT THE GOSPEL!!

This particular night was a special night b/c my own sons were there. They've never come to a regular Awana night before. So of course, they got to do it too.
Yep, approved workmen that are not ashamed!

Oh yeah.

Tonight I brought our Resurrection Eggs to do with my class.

I had six boys including a visitor that I really hope comes back.

As usual, my boys were a rowdy bunch of fun. But as soon as I sat down in the middle of the table with them and the eggs they were very quiet and ready to see what was new.

12 eggs worked out perfectly for 6 little boys to each get to open 2 while I used each item to explain more of the Easter story. And b/c they were so quiet and good we were able to get through the whole dozen before class time was over.

Lately, I've also been taking a few 3rd grade boys while my 2nd graders are at games.

What a difference a year makes!

These guys are more serious about learning their stuff but are just as eager to listen to my blabbering. Tonight, one of the guys had to tell about who was the first person to tell them the gospel. Jason said he didn't know and didn't even know what that was talking about. I'm guessing he probably really did....but I couldn't pass up the chance. So that class got to listen to me tell them about Jesus.

It seems like every week there is at least one ripe moment in the 3rd grade class.

Only 4 or 5 more weeks with my little people. I think we've learned a lot this year!

Happy Birthday Little One!

Our youngest Tagg baby just turned four!

This is his song....

"I'm not a baby anymore

Because NOW I'm four!"

He was sooo excited about his birthday and was counting down the sleeps.

Finally. FINALLY it came!!

Macaroni and cheese for breakfast. And I surprised them with a new recipe. I call it Misty's Mac & Cheese b/c she makes it at Awana and it's seriously good eatin'. But these guys had never had it. It was a big hit.

Taco Bell for lunch with Mommy and Daddy and then to Wendy's for a frosty. Happy guy.

It's so fun buying presents for this age. Especially him. He's happy with everything. I think he likes his tent best.

Pizza for dinner with car cakes that his big sister made for him. He had been asking for those for weeks.

We love our big boy!

Zboy is a sweet cuddler. He loves snuggling in my bed with me or on the couch or in my lap reading books. Years ago, Honey left for CO when he was 3 weeks old. So Zbaby slept with me every night for months until his Daddy could come home or we could go to him.

He still reminds me of that sweet cuddle baby.

Only now, he has a lot to say as he's snuggling!

Love the tents!

Happy Birthday Baby!!

In The Meantime...

I have so much to blog about! But no time. And when there is time I've hit a snag. Like now....I have a post almost finished about Mayfee's b-day but I have to do the rest of the pix on the other computer and it's turned off. And it's late. And I'm too lazy to go turn it on and wait for it.

Tomorrow...

But tomorrow is a different b-day entirely. So there'll be 2 in a row. Yay for celebrating life over and over again!

Anyhoo, I did wanna blog something tonight so I'll bore ya with the goings on...minus pix b/c, ya know.

~My favorite story of the week. We're getting dressed for church. Jes is on the pot. But first he gave his little brother permission to use his tiny bottle of cologne. You know, so he'd smell so good for church. But little brother left the tiny bottle on the edge of the bathroom counter. So when Jes got up and flushed (a miracle! ...like I said it was Sunday) he knocked the bottle into the pot and it was no more.

I wish I could've seen his face! But all I saw was a panicked boy racing to my room crying "My musk!!!!"

~Lane is driving. Most weeks I let her drive us to tutoring. She's doing great. We certainly won't get any speeding tickets though I'm a bit concerned about being ticketed for going 11 in a 35.

~How many panties do most little girls have? I'm pretty sure that 38 is overkill. Where did they all come from?

~My sister-in-law left me her juicer. And even though I was excited about using it, I just stared at it for weeks. I was scared of it. It had a bunch of pieces and I wasn't paying attention to how to put it together. Mustering up my courage, I finally gave it a whirl. Carrots, apples, kiwi, and kale. Not too bad! But now that I have the hang of it, I'm gonna come up with some better combinations.

~Birthday eve and 4 little boys are sleeping on their floor in pop-up tents. 2 to a tent. Snuggled in and excited!

Stay tuned!!

Happy Birthday Nate!

Another happy day over here and this time we're celebrating our Great Nate. Number 7 of the bunch just turned 7!

We started the day with cinnamon toast cake with strawberries.

And presents!!

I love this picture. These boys have so much fun together. When one gets something it's like a present for all of them. They are all so excited! Lots of legos. They love legos and bionicles.

We took him to lunch at Wendy's and out and about running errands. He had fun but was eager to just get home and play.

We tried to buy him a snowcone since the the snowcone place is open and he hasn't had one yet. It was an afterthought and we didn't have any cash. So we scrounged around the car and came up with $1.12. But this year they raised the prices and they were $1.25!!

Too bad.

Later it was a party at the park with his TKD pals.

He's never even asked for a friend to come over to play, let alone a party!

This was a first.

Cookie cake at the park.

Then soccer, slides, running, water balloon launching, and lots of laughing.

Happy Birthday Mayf.

We love you sooo much!!