Stirring with a big girl spatula

Elle's usually plays on the kitchen floor while I am cooking- For the past few weeks she has tried to mimic certain things I do in the kitchen (put on an apron, mop, stir in an empty bowl that she will get out herself).  Last Sat. night Ryan was making Apple pie (thank you for the apples Becky) and I was making Buttermilk Biscuits (they are really good if your looking for a recipe)- 

Ellie got out an apron just after I started and stood at my feet holding my leg- she wanted up to see what I was doing.......

As she watched I started wondering if she was old enough...........

We 'put on' her apron of choice (one my friend Val made for me)

Got a chair from our dining room table

She stood on that chair on the very tips of her little toes so she could reach the bowl filled with biscuit mix

I gave her a tea spoon at first and showed her how to stir

She would stir for a bit and then try to eat some of the flour mixture

Realizing that she was catching on fast I switched out her tea spoon for a big girl spatula :)

She loved it

Such precious memories

Home School Learning Lessons for this Public School Sending Mama

When the other mom came over my direction I started internally praying 'Please Jesus let me be a peace maker in this situation' ........I knew what was going to be one of the first questions out of this precious ladies mouth
'Do you home school?'
No, my boys go to public school.........
This mom gave me a thoughtful look and I really wanted to explain where I was coming from.  I know she is a passionate home schooling mama who adores her kids- I also know that I am a passionate public school sending mama who adores my kids........We had a common denominator though- We both Love and Serve the Lord.
In the past, I have been in conversations with passionate home schooling Christian ladies and by a lot of my own doing, it's gotten ugly- things like
your kids are going to be socially retarded
well your throwing your kids to the wolves
They've got to learn to function in the real world at some point, better it sooner than later
I choose to protect my children and be a 'hands on parent' not just send them off to school...
so on and so on until the division between us is icky

I, not glorifying the Lord one bit but instead ranting my opinions-

It's been a conscience humbling effort on my part- to submit all of my thinking, including my opinions to the Lord- Let Him sift through them and set me straight...this topic (the type of schooling you choose for your children) has been one the Lord seems to keep bringing back around- He wanted me to learn a thing or two (probably a million things in regard to this topic :) ......

With her thoughtful eyes looking at me I softly explained (instead of my usual heated & loud passionate voice) 'You know, something the Lord has really been showing me is that it does not matter where our kids are going to school- whether it is public, private, or at home..........what matters is that we are doing what He has called us to do- If He has called you to home school then AMEN and do it for His Glory.........If He (the Lord) has called Matt and I to send our boys to public school then AMEN and may we do that for His glory also!!  Instead of trying to convince eachother that one or the other is the 'RIGHT' way let's talk about what we are teaching our kids to do for the Lord...How are we teaching them to live for God in the enviornment they have been placed in?'

Her eye's got bright and she told me an amazing story of how an extra curricular activity her son is involved in, he was able to influence those around Him in a Godly way-
I explained how one of my sons has been able to invite a friend who is not a Christian to youth group....

CHRIST WAS OUR COMMON GROUND- NOT OUR SCHOOLING STYLE!

We ended the conversation on a pleasant note and the day went on.........

'And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus'

Waimea, Kokee, & Kauai Coffee (2 years ago)

In Nov. of 2010 We had lived on Kauai for a year and a half.  During that year and a half we had heard quite a few of our guests say how beautiful the Waimea Canyon was- For us on the mainland it would be a smaller version of the Grand Canyon.  The first Sun. in Nov. we decided to make the hours long trek from where we lived (a ranch just outside of Lihue) and take a look for ourselves........
After seeing the canyon (it is BEAUTIFUL) we continued on up the mountain to Kokee- Another first time sight for us......If your looking for a camping type (you can rent cabins) and 'outside of the box' adventure on the Hawaiian Islands Kokee is the place to go!! (for more info click on the link (Kokee) above that is hi lighted).
After checking out Kokee we drove back down the mountain and stopped at the Kauai Coffee Company (Coconut Caramel Crunch...yes please!)- When you first walk up to the coffee company they have a tree with thick green leaves.  I'm not sure how long ago the tradition started but on most of the leaves visitors have carved their names- Ryan, Matt, and I joined the tradition of leaf carving....

Frugal (knock off) J Crew

I was browsing jewelry on e-bay late one evening when I could not sleep- I was slightly bored and feeling a bit frumpy (equivalent to going grocery shopping when you are hungry- Don't Do It!! You will over buy every time!)- I had seen a necklace at J. Crew earlier in the summer- When I flipped the price tag over I was shocked at the amount (I think it was over $100.).......
Back to late night e-bay shopping while bored and feeling frumpy (felt the need to buy something with some color and a bit over the top bold to help pull me out of  'frumpy state')....
I saw a knock off of the J. Crew Necklace on e-bay for $15. plus free shipping

A MUST ORDER!

When I received the 'pull me out of fashion frump' necklace I was not impressed- I have broad shoulders (I didn't need to marry a man taller than me I needed to find a man that was broader than me......hee) and the glob of turquoise accented my broad shoulders to the max
It hung from my bathroom light dangling down into one of the mirrors in my bathroom for the greater part of the summer.  I told Matt I could not bring myself to throw it away- I felt the need to wear it just once so my fashion frump purchase would not turn frivolous-
The wardrobe of choice for our family reunion this summer was white with denim.  My sis in law Erika had seen pictures done with this look and gave it high recommendations-
As I was headed out the door for the reunion I saw that necklace still hanging from my mirror- On impulse I decided to alter it- 
I first removed the 'dangling' part of the necklace- attached the cut off dangling beads to a pair of earing holders (took a pair of earings I no longer wore off of their holders and used them) and
WAAAA LAAA!

 Frugal (knock off) J. Crew!!

The Original Necklace

What it looked like Altered

What Not To Wear... :)

Somebody should have nominated me for the show What Not To Wear.......
I must have moved to Hawaii and threw all of my fashion accountability out the window!!

Happy Saturday



Kauai Hawaii May 2009

Chit Chat about Asiago Cheese

I don't want to get out of the habit of blogging and have noticed that last couple of months I have not blogged as much as usual- I'm determined to get at least 10 blogs in this month.......I keep waiting for 'inspiration' to blog but am coming to realize that when you have 3 children and a busy house sometimes you've gotta forego inspiration and just write-
Last night and tonight I am just blogging........talking you you'all like you were sitting on my couch across from me- No big point......just chat
I made roast spaghetti tonight- this was the first time using roast as the 'meat' in the spaghetti.  Was not sure what I was going to make for dinner when I got up this morning (usually something planned either at the beginning of the week or at least the day before)- I grabbed a roast out of the freezer and put it in the crock pot as I was drinking my coffee this morning.  It cooked for a good part of the day before the conclusion of spaghetti was reached- We topped the spaghetti with Asiago cheese and also topped french bread with the Asiago (the Asiago smells like bad breath and diarrhea mixed but has an outstanding taste) Not something I usually buy but was on sale at the grocery store this week..............
As I was typing the last sentence out above my door bell rang- As soon as my sis in law Rhonda walked in she grabbed her nose and said 'WHAT IS THAT SMELL!'
I then explained to her about Asiago Cheese and it's peculiar smell- She said it smelled just like throw up to her.............'That's what you get when you put it on your french bread (and on top of the spaghetti) and stick it under the broiler' is what I told her.
Matt just walked in, sniffed and said it smells like fart-
So there you have it..............That should encourage everyone to go out and buy Asiago Cheese :)
Ending this post with a couple of Happy Birthday wishes!
It is Kelly's (in Minnesota) Birthday today.......HAPPY BIRTHDAY KELLY!
It is also my nephew Cole's 7th birthday and my niece Devyn's 20th birthday- HAPPY BIRTHDAY COLE AND DEVYN!!

12 Minutes to Blog

I've never put a time limit on myself to blog- It's 7:48 p.m. and I am stopping this post at 8- I'm wracking my brain to think what I should blog on.........just realized that not only do I have a time limit but I also have no direction what to talk about-
Off the top of my brain we'll go!
I spent the whole day at home with Ellie and Ryan- It was wonderfully odd.....A feeling of grungy (stayed in sweats all day) mixed with feeling really homey (I had a pumpkin candle that my friend Janelle gave me burning a good part of the day and I baked lemon bread).  Ryan was supposed to go on a field trip to the coast with his school- At the last minute I told him it was not a good idea that he go.......the forecast said cold weather and rain with lots of time spent outside would equal him coming down with a cold which would then lead to asthma (totally not being dramatic. He gets colds so easily).......Not sure why his school choose an outdoor day at the coast at the end of Oct.........
It's 7:52
Speaking of Ryan, he pulled down straight A's this past progress report- I told him how proud of him I was that he got a 4.0......He informed me that he did not get 4.0 even though he got straight A's- I guess you add an A+ differently than you do an A-..........His actual GPA, once he figured it out was 3.9...................He is the first person in our family to ever get straight A's (in my mind he still got 4.0 along with his straight A's!!)
7:55
Ellie and Oklie have started playing together- Ellie is getting better at not pulling her tail and Oklie is getting better about letting Ellie 'pet' her and be in her general area- Oklie used to jump up and run off when Ellie came into the room- I have been pondering the sudden change- I walked around the corner when Ellie was eating today and think I came to a realization.........Oklie is warming up to Elle's because Elle's will feed Oklie- Oak just needs to stand at the bottom of Elle's high chair and Elle's throws her food over
7:58
Earlier today, I rummaged around our attic dragging down paper work and education books from our adoption.  I am talking to a group of mom's about Adoption at the beginning of Nov. and trying to prepare- Our Adoption Story is a miracle and a glorifies God amazingly..........I am hoping to share our story without crying- to date it brings me to tears even when I am talking to the wall about it (trying to get comfortable 'sharing it' so that it flows when I speak)
My friend Michelle told me Nov. is considered 'National Adoption Month'........Adoption is such a beautiful thing-
8:00
Have a great night!

Added this pic of them playing because it's so darn cute! 
Ellie was wearing her costume from last Halloween :)

GOOD JOB RYAN!!