AWANA...pass it on!

Tonight is my last Awana lesson for the year.

Part of me is doing the happy dance and part of me is sad.

I have really enjoyed teaching the Sparks ( K-2nd grade) the "who" stories of the Bible.

This year I have prepared 31 lessons about characters, like Moses, Aaron, Miriam, Joseph, Jacob, Esau, Abraham, and many more.

We have even talked about a Donkey and what he had to say.

Tonight we are talking about Daniel.

Daniel grew up in Jerusalem where he lived with his family and had the freedom to worship the one true God but while he was a young man he was taken captive to live in Babylon .

He never gave in to the ways of the Babylonians and never gave up his faith

even though he was sent to the lions dens for praying.

Daniel was a light in a very dark world.

Later in his life he was even able to be a witness to the king and share words from God.

I am encouraging the kids to not let Awana be over.

To continue being a light in a dark world. To pass on their faith and not give up!

I did not grow up in a christian home but through a church camp experience,

I became a christian when I was only nine years old.

My parents started taking me to church after I accepted Christ,

and from that my dad and my whole family accepted the Lord.

God had a plan for my life and He has a plan for each one of them.

I hope that I have been able to show them that they can pass their faith on to someone else,

it doesn't have to be a kid. For me it was my dad!

Approved Workman Are Not Ashamed!

2 Timothy 2:15

Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth!

The Sweet Melissa Baking Book

It came in the mail today!

As you can tell from my side buttons that I have a button for

Sweet Melissa Sundays.

This is a baking group that I found through my friend Michelle at "Flourchild".

Each week she posts the most delicious looking desserts

so I went to the Sweet Melissa website and got the scoop.

Every week someone from the group picks a dessert.

You bake the recipe during the week and on Sunday

you post your version and give your critique but

You don't post the recipe, the person who picks will put it on her blog.

This book is written by an actual person , Melissa Murphy. She describes this book as a mixture of homespun desserts that have a french-influenced American approach to baking. She serves most of these desserts at her place "Sweet Melissa Patisserie" in Brooklyn.

I am so excited to make some new and different desserts.

I'm not telling but this weeks recipe has strawberries in it....

My Week

Whew! Our week was busy.

This week we had two band concerts, 2 competitions, and a track meet.

Denae had her 6th grade band concert, she plays the clarinett!

This is her second year of band and they did a great job!DeAnn had a track meet. Here she is in a relay.

And here she is playing the bass clarinett solo for State.

Then Darci went to a State competetion with 8 other flutes in an ensemble.

I am very proud of my girls, we are very blessed.

Relax

We have been so busy lately.

It seems that every night someone has a program at school.

Yesterday I made these, Nestle Toll House Cookies,

our favorite recipe for Chocolate Chip Cookies.

So get out the lawn chair, enjoy this beautiful weather,

get a glass of milk, cup of coffee/tea or even iced tea and just relax!

Signs of Spring

This past week Denae and I walked past the Bath and BodyWorks store

and this sweet smell of Spring was wafting into the air.

It drew us in and we succumbed to this delightful smell of a butterfly garden

called Butterfly flower.

I would suggest this soap,it's heavenly!

And this week you can get a freebie if you purchase a certain amount.

Denae also go a new Schwinn bike for one of our many bike trips around town.
She is the same height as her oldest sister now.
Too cute!

Easter Gift

Look what came in the mail today.

A shoebox full of Easter candy complete with Easter grass!

We don't live near any of our relatives and ever since my girls have been little my

Mother-in-law has occasionally sent them little gifts for the holidays.

This year she went crazy with candy.

We put it in a little Easter basket that hasn't been used for years.

This is a great idea for keeping in touch.

It doesn't have to be big, just something small to say I miss you and I'm thinking about you.

Sprint Triathalon

I remember when my middle daughter ,DeAnn, was seven

and she ran her first race with her dad.

This year she is 13 and did her first triathlon with him.

Our city YMCA had a mini triathlon, my husband

thought it would be a manageable thing for DeAnn and

She had a great time!

I wasn't there for the swimming

but got there for the end of the biking

and to watch Dusty cross the finish line

and then to watch as he ran with DeAnn on her last mile.

I think he had the most fun!

Which is your favorite?

We have this ongoing issue at my house. When I make a salad people eat bites. But when we go out to eat they eat lots. Especially if we go to "Montana Mikes". Montana Mikes is a steak house, and the girls love their salad. What is in the salad? Lettuce, cheese, few carrot slivers, maybe a couple of chunks of tomato, some red onion and croutons but the best part for the girls is their ranch dressing. I asked the waitress what is the name brand? She said they make it and had no idea what was in it. So I went to Wal-mart and got every ranch dressing they had and made a very similar version of the Montana Mike salad. We had a taste contest and everybody picked their favorite.Their favorite was the Hidden Valley, both the light and Regular. Do your kids have a favorite?

Old Fashioned Chicken and Dumplings

This is my Mom's Old Fashioned Arkansas Chicken and Dumplings and we all love it.

Every time we go to my mom's house this is on the top of the request list.

First you take an entire chicken and boil until tender, save the broth , and remove all the chicken.You can shred the chicken to put back in later.

For your dumplings.

2 cups plain flour

1/2 tsp salt

mix together. set aside.

Beat together 1 egg and 1 tbsp salt. (my mom lets the egg come to room temperature,

just don't leave out too long, 20-30 minutes will do)

Then add 6 tbsp milk to egg and oil , mix.

Then add all together.

Roll out your dough and cut in strips, let rest for 20 minutes.

Heat your chicken broth up, add enough water to fill to top of pan.

Get your broth boiling and drop your dumplings in one at a time.

I usually let boil for about 10 minutes and then simmer another 20 with chicken added.

You may have to change the time.

Test the dumplings , you don't want them to taste doughy.

This is an easy meal that is very affordable

and loved by my entire family.

Enjoy!

New Every Morning....

This week has been an adventure in Kansas. Friday morning they were predicting snow, we were all sceptical but by noon we were in a full blown blizzard. In one hour we had 3 inches of snow on the ground.
Saturday we woke up to 18 inches of snow, drifted to our front door. We spent the entire day digging out. Hey , we weren't about to be trapped , but we were. Even my husbands four wheel drive pickup was no match for the 3 foot drifts in our front drive.

Sunday the sun came out and the place was a huge mess,

I mean my husband is flabbergasted at the lake in our front drive.

We still had many inches of snow on Sunday but it was starting to melt.The city did come by and plow our street. A first in the 9 years that we have been here.

And this morning, the snow is almost gone. That fertilized grass that I was worried about , it is beautiful. We are expecting temps in the 60's again today so the rest should be gone.

It so reminds me of this verse,Lamentations 3:22-23.

Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassion's never fail.

They are new every morning; Great is your faithfulness.

We were overwhelmed with the snow. It was like a big weight on our shoulders.

We had to get out. But it was just a break in our weekly routine,

God had a plan.

Kansas was in desperate need of moisture and

what a more beautiful way to give us some water

than a snow that we had not had all season.

We are grateful to God for His great love to us.

He never ceases to surprise us and bless us.