Screaming Like a Girl

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Zachary’s two bottom teeth are very loose, but he refuses to let us touch, wiggle, or do anything that mildly resembles possible removal of the teeth. The permanent teeth have both come in behind the two teeth, so we know we need to get them out soon.

I’ve tried to be super-patient with him when attempting to wiggle the teeth, but the moment any area in the vicinity of his teeth is touched ~ he screams.

Loudly. Super shrill. Painfully so.

When trying to wiggle his tooth yet again, I had only touched his lip when he screamed. I snapped at him, “Quit screaming like a girl.”

He replied, “Sorry. I’ll scream like a boy.”

‘Cause that’ll help.

 

 

Head on over to Mary's at Not Before 7 for some more Tiny Talk Tuesday!!

 

Vacation in the ER

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I have a feeling that Rick WASN’T planning on spending his first real morning of vacation in the ER with me.

Not that he doesn’t enjoy being with me, mind you, but I’m sure he would have preferred quality one-to-one time that didn’t involve an IV drip, pain meds and me getting to spend lots of time resting in bed.

Thankfully, we’re back home now and I’m waiting {somewhat} patiently for a lovely kidney stone to pass. Hopefully with a little less intensity of pain than what triggered the ER visit this morning.

My happy meds are stashed next to me just in case and my nurse today swears that I really should be on bed rest for close to 3 months. She’s also a mom of 4, can you tell?

So…if you see me on Facebook, Twitter and such a little more over the next bit, don’t be surprised. I’m just taking advantage of the resting! And if you happen to see anything loopy-like, it might be medicinally induced…maybe. :)

My Little Girl Wants to Be a Missionary

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Laurianna talks a lot about what she wants to be when she grows up. She’s past the stage where being a princess is top on her list, and nowadays her answer is focused on three things: an artist, a writer/teacher, and a missionary.

Her heart and compassion overwhelm me at times. While the thought of her being far, far away from us someday makes me start taking deep breaths, I KNOW that whatever God puts on her heart and where ever God leads her is ok.

Last week, before we sent off our shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, she wanted to write a letter to the little girl that would be receiving her box. She had picked out every one of the presents in the box and took the time to describe each gift and WHY she had included them in the box.

This line just made me cry:

“Just like the erasers erase things, Jesus erased our sins by dying for us on the cross. He did it because He loved us. And he loves you too!”

The willingness and openness that she has to share Jesus with other people just makes my heart soar.

 

A Rush of Wings ~ Book Giveaway!!

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Noelle flees her childhood home because memories of her past are beginning to wash over her in bits and pieces.

Memories that terrify her and all she can do is run.

She stops at a horse ranch in the mountains and finds some respite from her thoughts, but refuses to let anyone know where she is. The owner of the ranch, Rick Spencer, and his brother Morgan have little success in getting her to open up to them at first.  As her past continues to haunt her, she grows closer to one of the Spencer brothers and begins to open her heart to trust and love him. Through his love and tenderness, she begins to understand and know the love of Someone even greater.

My Thoughts

Have you ever started reading a book and gotten about 1/3 of the way through and thought “This seems vaguely familiar"? Turns out, I’d read this book years ago BUT loved it all the same this time around! :) I didn’t feel like the story was quite finished after A Rush of Wings and had to find the sequel The Still of Night to wrap it all up nicely.

I’ve read many of Heitzmann’s books and have loved them all. Her books have an incredible depth to them. The characters face real and deep struggles and don’t handle everything perfectly ~ which is nice to read!

The Giveaway

Would you like to win a copy of A Rush of Wings? I have one copy to mail to one of my readers! Leave a comment on this post ~ be sure there is a way for me to contact you. The giveaway will be open until Tuesday, November 30th at 8pm.

This book was provided for review by Bethany House. All opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

Personalized Christmas Cards from Studio DaySpring

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As much as I hate to admit it, we haven’t sent out Christmas cards in years. Many, many years.

Received, yes. Sent…no.

This year we are actually ahead of the game and have our Christmas cards printed and ready to go, thanks to Studio DaySpring. While I was at Relevant Conference, Dayspring had many of their products on display and offered a discount card for our family to create some cards for ourselves and see what we thought about them.

Studio Dayspring has simple and easy templates for you to use so you can quickly design your own Christmas cards. After I took some fall pictures of all of our kids {and weeded out the outtakes}, I went to the Studio Dayspring site and began to browse through the many holiday card designs that they offered…no small task since there are an abundance of choices! The longest part of the process was choosing a card ~ something Rick and I had difficulty doing {ahem}. The designs offer space for either one or multiple pictures ~ which we had several of.

We did finally agree on a design and within 15 minutes had the cards in our shopping cart and then ordered. We chose the Blue Snowflakes design, 5x7 sized card, and I was very surprised when the cards arrived within a week. They turned out WONDERFUL and I am so very excited to start addressing and sending them out! I venture that we’ll have some shocked friends and relatives opening up mailboxes this holiday season too. :)

You can start designing your own cards on the Studio DaySpring site. As a bonus, from now until November 30th, use the code SUPER30 and receive 30% off your order!!

When Household Items Go Missing…

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There are so many times during a day that I cannot for the life of me find something in our house. Since I refuse to admit that I am getting a wee bit forgetful, it’s much easier to blame it on the kids.

Especially when one goes in search of a measly rubberband and then comes across this ~ which explains WHY there aren’t any to be found.

Because this was only one of the HERD of dinosaurs sporting colorful bands.

 

Menu Plan Monday {11.22.2010}

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We’ve got boatloads of family coming in town this week for Thanksgiving dinner. Last count we were around 25…and you never know if we may end up inviting someone else. The actual meal day is still up in the air depending on when all of the family gets into town, but the tentative plan is on Friday but we’ll see how it all works out!

Monday

• Breakfast ~ Bagels
• Dinner ~  Meatloaf and mashed potatoes w/ corn
• Extra ~ 4 loaves of homemade whole wheat bread

Tuesday

• Breakfast ~ Baked oatmeal
• Dinner ~ Chicken curry w/ rice

Wednesday

• Breakfast ~ Eggs & toast
• Dinner ~ Hot dogs & cake {Kaleb’s birthday}
• Extra ~ 4 loaves of homemade whole wheat bread

Thursday

• Breakfast ~ Whole wheat pancakes
• Dinner ~  Ham steaks & cornbread

Friday

• Breakfast ~ Cereal
• Dinner ~ Thanksgiving dinner w/family…dinner includes turkey, mashed potatoes, sweet potato casserole, green bean casserole, stuffing, cranberry freeze, pumpkin pie, butterscotch apple crisp, 7 layer salad, and any other last minute things we decide to whip up!

Saturday

• Breakfast ~ Scrambled eggs, bacon & toast
• Dinner ~ LEFTOVERS!!!

Sunday

• Breakfast ~ Coffee cake
• Dinner ~ Popcorn & smoothies

As Always: I’ve linked to any recipes that I’ve already posted.  Don’t forget that you can download my printable Main Dish Menu Planner that you can fill in with your own text and save on your own computer ~ go on and try! I have examples on how I use it to help sort and plan my meals.

That’s it for the week ~ what on your menu?

 

Outside My Window…

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Three words: I love fall.

The Ponce de Leon Meal Blessing

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Occasionally our mealtime prayer is done in Dutch. I grew up saying it at our family mealtimes and we’ve taught it to our kids. They also pray it at my parent’s house since my mom is Dutch.

Generally, when the prayer is finished, we all say ‘Eet smakelijk’ which means ‘Eat good’ {basically}. :)

After praying the other night at home, Zachary immediately yelled out “Ponce de Leon!” and was going to start eating. Everyone was looking at him funny and we all started laughing.

Can you guess what we’ve been studying about lately in history?

Head on over to Mary's at Not Before 7 for some more Tiny Talk Tuesday!!

Menu Plan Monday {11.15.2010}

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Menu plan is pretty straightforward this week. Don’t forget that you can download my printable Main Dish Menu Planner that you can fill in with your own text and save on your own computer ~ go on and try! I have examples on how I use it to help sort and plan my meals.

Monday

• Breakfast ~ Bagels
• Dinner ~  Fettucine Alfredo w/salad and fresh bread
• Extra ~ 4 loaves of homemade whole wheat bread

Tuesday

• Breakfast ~ Baked oatmeal
• Dinner ~  Parmesan Chicken with wild rice

Wednesday

• Breakfast ~ Eggs & toast
• Dinner ~ Beef Stew w/ homemade cornbread
• Extra ~ 4 loaves of homemade whole wheat bread

Thursday

• Breakfast ~ Whole wheat pancakes
• Dinner ~  Leftovers

Friday

• Breakfast ~ Cereal
• Dinner ~ Pizza w/ homemade pizza dough and raw carrots

Saturday

• Breakfast ~ Scrambled eggs, bacon & toast
• Dinner ~ Chili

Sunday

• Breakfast ~ Cinnamon rolls or out for bagels
• Dinner ~ Popcorn & smoothies

As Always: I’ve linked to any recipes that I’ve already posted. That’s it for the week ~ what on your menu?

 

 

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Here Fishy, Fishy

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Our kids have been thrilled beyond measure to go fishing with my dad lately. While they may not be the most impressive of catches, here’s a little look at each of their ‘first’ catches. :)

Zachary’s just makes me giggle ~ he was so very excited and has an 8x10 picture to now commemorate the occasion.

McKenna kicked it up a few inches…

and Laurianna  brought home the biggest catch.

The girls took home the fish and cooked it up for dinner. But the biggest excitement? Watching the fish head flip around in the sink after they cut it off.

They still haven’t stopped talking about it. :)

Fall Into Reading 2010 ~ Update

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My book stash that I had at the top of our dresser is slowly dwindling, which is a good thing, but also a little sad to me! While I’m happy to see that I’m reading and accomplishing a little something, now I’m scrounging around trying to find a some of the straggler books and secretly hoping some more lovely books will show up on my doorstep needing reviews!

A few of the books below have been added to my list since I posted my Fall Into Reading 2010 list and I have a few books now on my wait list at the library to keep me busy for the next few weeks. :)

 

Completed Fiction

~ Love’s First Bloom by Delia Parr

~ Surrender the Heart by MaryLu Tyndall

~ Masquerade by Nancy Moser

~ The Vigilante’s Bride by Yvonne Harris

~ A Rush of Wings by Kristen Heitzmann

~ The Twelfth Imam by Joel Rosenberg

Completed Non-Fiction

~ The Bible ~ finished up my Bible in 90 days at the end of October!!

Still Working On…

~ The Soul of C.S. Lewis by Jerry Root ~ using this as my morning devotional and still working on…

~ Ordinary Mom, Extraordinary God by Mary DeMuth

 

Fall Into Reading 2010 is hosted by Katrina at Callapidder Days and runs from September 22nd til December 20th. If you are interested in joining up, or learning more, be sure to stop by and visit!

Homemade Pizza Dough {Recipe}

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I’ve been fiddling with pizza dough recipes for a long time.

Too long.

So when I blended a couple of recipes and we all liked it, I quickly scribbled down the recipe and printed it out. The mix of garlic, spices and the honey give this dough recipe just the right blend of sweet and spices for our family. :) I love the thickness of the crust and that one pizza is super-filling for all of us too. If you prefer a thinner crust pizza, you can use the dough to make two pizza crust instead of just one crust.

Download a 4x6 recipe card by clicking here.

 

Ingredients:

~ 1 1/2 cups hot water

~ 1 Tbsp. yeast

~ 1/3 cup olive oil

~ 1/4 cup honey

~ 2 tsp. salt

~ 3 cups white bread flour

~ 1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

~ 1 Tbsp. oregano

~ 1 Tbsp. basil

~ 3/4 Tbsp. garlic powder

 

Directions:

1. Activate your yeast in the water with a little honey added in {about 5 minutes til bubbly}.

2. Add in the remaining ingredients and begin to knead {I put it in our Bosch for about 5 minutes}. You can hand knead it for about five minutes or a little longer if you choose to use whole wheat flour in the recipe.

3. Let rest once kneading is done and rise for about 30 minutes, or until dough has doubled in size.

4. Roll dough out into pizza shape. This recipe will make one 16-18” thick crust pizza, or two thin crust pizzas.

5. Top with sauce and desired toppings ~ bake at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes or until pizza crust is browned and cheese is melted the way you like.

The Vigilante’s Bride ~ Book Giveaway

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Emily McCarthy is essentially forced from her home and sent west to the town of New Hope, Montana in response to a mail order bride advertisement. She knows little about her intended groom, but is resigned to marrying him and hoping for the best in the situation.

Luke Sullivan knows Emily’s intended all too well. The man was responsible for the downfall of his family and Luke still holds a grudge against him. When Luke robs a stagecoach headed into New Hope to take money that he believes is rightfully his, he finds much more than he bargained for in Emily. In addition to the money, Luke also takes Emily in an attempt to rescue her from a dangerous situation ~ but will she see it that way?

My Thoughts

The Vigilante’s Bride by Yvonne Harris was an enjoyable read ~ one that gave me a little respite while our kids were sick last week. :) There was a lot of action and drama that kept me reading when I was able to and all as a part of a wonderful storyline showing God’s redemption, restoration, and true relationship.

Find Out More

~ Visit Yvonne Harris’ website

~ Buy Yvonne’s book at Amazon.

The Giveaway

Would you like to win a copy of The Vigilante’s Bride? I have one copy to mail to one of my readers! Leave a comment on this post ~ be sure there is a way for me to contact you. The giveaway will be open until Tuesday, November 23rd at 8pm.

This book was provided for review by Bethany House. All opinions expressed in this review are solely my own.

Veggie Tales Live!!

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This past weekend we took a little road trip and were able to attend Veggie Tales Live with the kids {because going by ourselves would have looked a little strange, no?}. The kids had all been sick the few days prior to the show, but were so upset when we said we might not be able to go.

When we picked up our tickets to see all the Veggies sing, we found a little something special in our envelope ~ meet & greet tickets for after the show!!!!

We settled into our seats and waited for the show to begin. There was a great mix of songs from the past as well as some songs that we’d never heard before, but a DVD that we’re sure to get ~ an 80’s remix. Here’s a peek at the song “Gourds Just Wanna Have Fun.”  Might I just add, I am so glad it was them wearing the 80’s throwback outfits and not me? {grins}

Kaleb’s favorite of the evening involved the Pirates. He wanted to know when they were going to come back out dressed as pirates.

Much to MY delight, they did the Bellybutton Song. :) I may or may not have been singing along….

Another 80’s hit song ~ Footloose {and hilarious!!}. I’m telling you ~ we are getting the 80’s audio cd just so I can reminisce! We also heard some clips from the 70’s cd during intermission. :)

Kaleb looks a little unhappy in this picture {he was still upset they weren’t dressed like pirates anymore}…

…but he eventually warmed up right when it was time for us to leave and said goodbye to Larry.

Veggie Tales Live will still be performing through November 20th. You can find out if they will be in a city near you singing silly songs at the Veggie Tales Live site!

Thanks so much to Big Idea Entertainment for the opportunity to watch the Veggie Tales Live show ~ we appreciate it so much!!