Comment Tutorial

For all those inquisitive minds that want to learn a new art---The comment maker on blogs!!

So, to leave a comment, you need to scroll that mouse on over to the end of the post where you see #comments and left click. Then, you may type in a comment. If you have a google acct, you can sign in or just pick Anonymous and sign your name so I know who you are:).

That's it folks! Now, you can move into the computer era and into The Herd+.

Thank you to all who have ever left a comment!!! I love them:).

What Punctuation Mark are YOU?

Ok, my friend Ginger had a quiz for anyone to take on her lovely blog...so now it's your turn. My question(of course I had a question --that seems to be who I am!!) is who is that comma that I get along with? John--you are my Main Comma--what do you think of that term of endearment!! Main Squeeze has not been officially replaced!

So, anyone who reads my blog(I am finding more fans, but only the faithful few that leave me a comment!!) --leave me a comment and tell me what you turned out to be! I will be providing a tutorial on comment making in my next entry for those comment challenged people!!! Remember, my love language is encouraging words--that means I like comments--hehaw! Well, not the negative ones, but I haven't had as many of those as I used to in years(b/c I resigned a formal teaching post 8 years ago!!).

You Are a Question Mark

You seek knowledge and insight in every form possible. You love learning. And while you know a lot, you don't act like a know it all. You're open to learning you're wrong. You ask a lot of questions, collect a lot of data, and always dig deep to find out more. You're naturally curious and inquisitive. You jump to ask a question when the opportunity arises. Your friends see you as interesting, insightful, and thought provoking. (But they're not always up for the intense inquisitions that you love!) You excel in: Higher education (Does this make me look smart, or what?--Appearances aren't everything!!) You get along best with: The Comma

What Punctuation Mark Are You?

Book Review: 90 Minutes in Heaven

I thought it would be nice to review some of the books that I have read--especially the really good ones!

My latest enjoyment has been:

90 Minutes in Heaven by Don Piper. I borrowed it from a friend, Jennifer Borgne, so I can't give it away. This book was sooooo good! It's a true story of a man that died, went to Heaven, and was prayed back to earth!

It's the power of God, prayer, and more in this book that kept my interest. I love true stories, but this one was one of the life changing books that I am glad I have read now. I won't tell all, but I'm just salting the oats so you go out and get this book or get it from the library!!

Happy Reading!! Make sure that you value the Word of God first, then you can read others words:).

These are Healthier CC Cookies I plan to try...

There is a new or reinvented way of adding veggies to things! Check this recipe out. There are two cookbooks out there that I found on this topic:
Deceptively Delicious(Seinfeld) (By the way, this is at Costco for $13.59!)
Sneaky Chef(?)
This recipe is from DD by Seinfeld(yes, this is by the comedian's wife)

Chocolate Chip Cookies
Nonstick cooking spray
1 cup firmly packed light or dark brown sugar
3/4 cup trans-fat free soft tub margarine spread
2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1 (15 - ounce) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed. *She does non suggest pureing these, but after making them I would!*
2 Cups (12 ounces) semisweet chocolate chips
3/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
3/4 cups raisins (optional)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
Preheat oven to 350 degrees, F. Coat a baking sheet with cooking spray.
In a large mixing bowl or the bowl of an electric mixer, beat the sugar and margarine with a wooden spoon or on medium speed until smooth.
Beat in the egg whites and vanilla, then the chickpeas and chocolate chips.
Add the flour, oats, baking soda, and salt, walnuts and raisins (if wanted,) and mix on a low speed until a thing dough forms.
Drop the dough by the tablespoonful onto the baking sheet, spacing the cookies about 2 inches apart. Press gently with a fork to flatten. Bake until the cookies are golden brown and just set, 11 to 13 mintues; do not overbake. Transfer to a rack to cool.

Try this with us...well, minus the cheese!!

From my friend's cooking blog:

"Pizza Pasta
We have a lot of fun making this meal, assembly line style. Each child gets to be in charge of one item. This is a favorite meal at our house.1 large jar pasta sauce (2 lbs. 13 oz. size)1 cup water4 cups grated mozzarella cheese1 large onion, chopped 2 Tbs. Italian seasoning2 lbs. wide egg noodles8 oz. pepperoni slicesCook the egg noodles for 3 minutes, until just barely tender. No longer!Combine the sauce with the water. In another bowl, combine cheese, onion, and Italian seasoning. Layer in the crock-pot: 1/4 of each item in the following order:noodles, sauce, pepperoni, cheeseCover and cook on LOW 3-4 hours. *Serve with garlic breadsticks."

Audio books for free online!!

Do you like audio books? Well, my friend -Ginger suggested this site and it's awesome! She uses it to help with home schooling. It has tons of books for free as audio downloads. We have started Little Lord Fauntleroy at night through it. I get tired when I read out loud(it's almost like a sedative!!), so this will help us cover more books out loud. Thanks Ginger!

The Cowboy Boots

The Cowboy Boots --John sent me this one!

Anyone who has ever dressed a child will love this one!

Did you hear about the Texas teacher who was helping one of her kindergarten students put on his cowboy boots? He asked for help and she could see why. Even with her pulling and him pushing, the little boots still didn't want to go on.

By the time they got the second boot on, she had worked up a sweat.She almost cried when the little boy said,"Teacher, They're on the wrong feet."(something I have done too many times to number!!!)She looked, and sure enough, They were. It wasn't any easier pulling the boots off than it was putting them on. She managed to keep her cool as together they worked to get the boots back on,this time on the right feet.He then announced, "These aren't my boots."

She bit her tongue rather than get right in his face and scream, "Why didn't you say so?", like she wanted to. Once again, she struggled to help him pull the ill-fitting boots off his little feet. No sooner had they gotten the boots off when he said, "They're my brother's boots. My Mom made me wear 'em."Now she didn't know if she should laugh or cry. But, she mustered up what grace and courage she had left to wrestle the boots on his feet again. Helping him into his coat, she asked, "Now, where are your mittens?"He said, "I stuffed 'em in the toes of my boots."She will be eligible for parole in three years.

The Lunar Eclipse!!!

Did you see the Lunar eclipse last night? Well, we have a friend that is great with a camera and a telescope and here's what he had to say about it.

"I did get a couple of pictures of it through some breaks in the clouds. Attached is probably the best one. You can see the curve of earth’s shadow along the right hand side of the moon. In this picture, the moon is not totally in the earth’s shadow yet, so that is why the right side is so bright and the left side is so dark. The red color comes from all the dust in earth’s atmosphere. The sunlight gets scattered in our atmosphere so that is why the moon doesn’t go completely dark. " --Bret Dahl.

The next lunar eclipse is supposed to be in 2010!!! So, if you missed it, here's an actual photo of what you would have seen up close(well, not really up close, but closer than just your eyesight!).

Thanks Bret! Thanks to Sarah (my closest friend) who is married to Bret for letting him do his "hobby." I am of the opinion, behind every man's hobby, is a very patient and giving woman!!!

Reading Fun and Sibling Bonding

It has been fun to watch Katie start to learn to read. It opens doors of understanding. This weekend, we went to McDonald's and played on the playground. She started to read the rules sign and proceeded to tell John and I that we could go down the slide too, b/c the sign said Parents can play too!! She is reading Katy No Pocket to Mark in this picture. We read this out loud last year, but now she is reading it! The next photo is the boys watching veggie tales together! It was a pose that I had to take a picture of! The last one is off the kids watching Mark play his online stuff at http://www.starfall.com/

Valentine's Day Brownies!

Last week for V-day, we did get to make brownies(milk free--of course). I love different shaped pans and I had a heart one, so how appropriate!! It was very yummy and the kids loved getting to have Valentine's with the family. John had bought the girls little stuffed heart and heart candies--such a sweet dad!

Glad to have Melissa back home!

My mom and dad have purposed to really impact their grandkids for the Lord, so they rotate all the grandkids for a few days of visiting them in Houston. Last week, it was Melissa's turn. We missed her dearly, but she thoroughly enjoys her visits to Mimer's and Papa's! Here is a picture of her loving her brother when she got back home.

Caught! Different Child-Different Act!

Last night I opened the pantry to find this!!! John had bought them for me--they are bonbons!!!--for Valentines Day. I obviously did not put them high enough!! He had eaten only two by the time I found him!!!

Matthew has fulfilled a goal!!

Back when I posted our goals, I stated that Matthew would finish speech therapy! Well, he has officially been dismissed from ECI's speech therapy!! We think he takes after the gifted filibuster Katie Bull!! Once she talked to my parents from Dallas to Houston straight! That's four and a half hours!!

Have you ever thought about making your own laundry soap???

This is a recipe that I found on a blog that was referred to me. I will keep you posted on what I think of my own soap. I used an oatmeal natural soap that we have a lot of and that we use for ourselves. The only thing I did differently is add Solumel from Melalueca to my batch. The cost per load is about 1-3 cents a load.
The recipe is:
3 oz. grated soap
½ cup washing soda(do not use baking soda instead)
½ cup borax

A tribute to my husband!

I don't know when he will actually read this, but since we are celebrating Valentine's Day today instead of yesterday, I thought I'd put it on today! You know when you have kids and you need a babysitter, you just have to wait til you can have a night out to celebrate. Well, you can celebrate at home, but it's nice to get out sometimes!
I am going to use an acronym and I am using the word Father, b/c I think John is just the best at fathering--and it's a longer word!

John,

You are:

Faithful--you are very true to me and your kiddos!
Able-you make a handy-man not necessary to hire--YOU are the handy-man!!
Tough--you take the knocks for all the kids and you don't complain and tell them to get off!!!
Handsome--you are my chief among ten thousand(my scripture from Song of Sol)
Even--you don't have a temper, you are so very patient!
Ranbunctious--you make life fun! I love the spice that you put in life, marriage, family!!


Here are some tidbits on John, just in case you didn't know them.

He took the girls to get their ears pierced when they got them done(they were both 5).
He takes the girls on dates and Mark on GNO(Guys Night Out)s.
He takes Mark to his soccer practice and doesn't even ask me too.
He took the kids fishing with my dad!
He always buys me a card for holidays(no matter if I tell him, it's not necessary)--there's a story behind that one.
He's romantic and creative with our dates.
He always give the best back rubs!
He loves me more than I could ever ask any human to.
He forgets my flaws(what woman could ask for anything more!!)
He's a giver--he might try to save us money but he gives where there is need.
The list goes on, but I shall stop there.

I love my John!!

Valentine's Day History

There are other opinions about how Valentine's Day started, but I tend to like these better. Also, I thought it was funny to hear an old practice:

In the Middle Ages, young men and women drew names from a bowl to see who their valentines would be. They would wear these names on their sleeves for one week. To wear your heart on your sleeve now means that it is easy for other people to know how you are feeling.

Valentine's Day History: There are varying opinions as to the origin of Valentine's Day. Some experts state that it originated from St. Valentine, a Roman who was martyred for refusing to give up Christianity. He died on February 14, 269 A.D., the same day that had been devoted to love lotteries. Legend also says that St. Valentine left a farewell note for the jailer's daughter, who had become his friend, and signed it "From Your Valentine". Other aspects of the story say that Saint Valentine served as a priest at the temple during the reign of Emperor Claudius. Claudius then had Valentine jailed for defying him. In 496 A.D. Pope Gelasius set aside February 14 to honour St. Valentine.
Gradually, February 14 became the date for exchanging love messages and St. Valentine became the patron saint of lovers. The date was marked by sending poems and simple gifts such as flowers. There was often a social gathering or a ball.
In the United States, Miss Esther Howland is given credit for sending the first valentine cards. Commercial valentines were introduced in the 1800's and now the date is very commercialised. The town of Loveland, Colorado, does a large post office business around February 14. The spirit of good continues as valentines are sent out with sentimental verses and children exchange valentine cards at school.

I found another Hawkins song!!

Praise and Worship will never be the same again, oh no!! I just found this redo by Tim Hawkins and thought it needed a separate post.

Why John and I don't drink...

To all my friends that remember this song(Kay--I expect you to be one of them:)--this one in particular made me think of you and me in those P&W days! ) .

Tim Hawkins(the one who sings this song and more) is a hilarious comedian! Is that redundant or what?
We plan to go see him in action at the end of March. If you live in our area or want to come up, let us know and we will get tickets in a group. We can't wait!!!
He also did this song and this one is our favorite one by far!!! You can do a search for tim hawkins on youtube and get some gems from his stuff.

Fishing Time!!

This past weekend the city of Frisco released a lot of rainbow trout into a lake(pond--whatever you want to call it:) ). My dad loves to fish, so John had asked if he wanted to go fishing with him and the three eldest grandkiddos on Sunday morning(we go to church on Saturday night, so it works perfect for us).
John has a friend, Randy--who loves to fish too, and they went out on Friday afternoon with the kids and fished. Katie caught a perch, but no trout were seen by us. The fish were supposed to be released on Thursday night, so we started wondering if this was really true...
So, John went back on Saturday morning with the kids, again, to see if they could find the perfect spot. They wanted to be in the right place on Sunday with my dad. The lake was crowded--they had released more fish and only kids could fish from 8-11am. Well, no fish were caught, but they found some guys that were catching, and they suggested that the bobber be taken off the lines. They also had a different kind of bait. More perfection for Sunday fishing with Papa!
Sunday came and we fixed blni'(Russian pancakes) for breakfast and the clan went fishing. My mom and I stayed back with Matthew. So, they went fishing and came home with 23 fish!!! They met up with a man and his daughter at the lake, who was having great success with the fish catching! He gave them some pointers and let the kids reel in the fish he caught and gave them 19 fish too!!!
John cleaned them up and grilled them for all of us for lunch! Mmmmm...a little bony, but fun to eat the fruit of the land, well, lake!!!
We all very much enjoyed my parents visit!! Here is the evidence of the fishing experience!!

Me Time--Rethought

A friend of mine, Ginger, has a post on her blog that was from another blogger...so I continued reading the original post. Wow, very thought provoking. I think I need "me time"-especially when other mothers say we need it more than we get, but I like what's shared below and hope to implement. My favorite part is starred!!

This is from a Christian wife, mother and blogger....
I stopped seeing my life as a wife and mother as a JOB--something I put aside at the end of the day. I stopped complaining and started living. I am looking for ways to make my daily chores more enjoyable. I am drinking in the beauty of my children, taking the time to search their eyes, hold their hands, and be their mom. I am listening more and speaking less. I am working at catching myself every time I start to feel slighted or neglected or overworked, and turning that desire to run off for a bit of me time to make me feel better into a desire to cheerfully do any task set before me "as unto the Lord." I am beginning to enjoy time spent with my children just being their mom. I am trying to see interruptions as blessings and opportunities to bless others. And when I am feeling drained, I am seeking the Lord.

****What I am finding is that I am not clinging so tightly to the snipets of time I am given in which to do something alone because I no longer see those times as the only way to save my sanity. Instead, they are fun little stops along the blessed path I walk called motherhood.

Any time you spend away from your family MUST be spent in the company of those who will encourage you as a mother and wife. You will never gain anything but resentment from the council of those who encourage you to seek self. Learn to enjoy being home with your family. Learn to live sacrificially. Learn contentment in serving others. Learn to be happy being you--right where God placed you.

NEW 21st century Scrapbooking!!

I have decided that in order to scrapbook, I would need a room to myself, a day every other week and lots of funds. Since that is not going to happen soon, I have decided to stop scrapbooking and just blog!! I am creating a word doc. from my blog entries that will be my "scrapbook" for now!!! I am up to 43 pages in a word document just with all my blogs from June 2007 til now!! I hope to print this some day and have it bound, but not sure when that will actually get done. I looked into companies that print blogs and it's too much for my brain to figure out, plus I just did the word doc and it took about 10 minutes with cutting and pasting. Not bad!!

I also have some family albums through snapfish and will be adding to those for our vacations only. So, I am not abandoning the art completely, just going digital and online.

You may consider doing the same---you add the pictures very easily and you are journaling without penmanship being and issue~!
That's all for now on this Superbowl Sunday!!

Recipe to Try!!! DELICIOSO!!

Smoky Chicken Chili
½ Poblano green pepper (cut up very small)
1 cup of frozen chopped onions, red peppers mix (comes in a bag in the frozen section)
3 garlic cloves (diced)
2 T olive oil
2 14.5 oz can of diced tomatoes
3 Cups of shredded smoked chicken(about 1 lb)(we just used a roasted chicken from Costco and pulled the chicken off--it's about half of the roasted chicken)
1 16 oz can navy beans
1 15 oz can black beans(rinsed and drained)
1 12 oz can of chicken broth
1 1.25 oz envelope of white chicken chili seasoning mix
Toppings: shredded cheese, chips, sour cream, cilantro, or whatever you come up with.
Saute veggies(not the ones in the cans) in olive oil. Add the items from the cans, chicken, broth, seasoning packet, and cook for about 20 minutes.
Kids(about 10 years old- 12 years old)made, ate this chili and liked it!!! They didn’t even say anything about the veggies!!

My kids loved it and so do John and I!!! It's dairy free and fabulous!!! You can eat it without the chees and it's still yummy!!!

Mark is starting his first sport!!!

Can you guess what it is? He is starting this week with his first practice. Leave me a comment if you want to guess!!! Those that guess it, will be published!! This is to see how many people are actually reading this blog-ha! Yes, I will continue if it's just me, my fish, John, Randy and Mrs. Carol reading it, but I am curious!!!