Havin' Fun Yet?

Simple Activity

2012-01-27T12:21:00.000-08:00

Someone on the intronets gave me the idea. We copied and loved.

Mr. Intensity's Bull Whip

2012-01-20T19:30:00.000-08:00

He has mellowed over the years. Occasionally I see glimpses of the boy that used to be constantly intense. In the yard he was practicing cracking his homemade whip.

Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day

2012-01-13T20:15:00.000-08:00

This is the bread that broke my stone. It was delicious. 100% whole wheat with honey.

After posting that I was investigating Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day, a few friends warned me that the high temperatures would crack my stone.

And it did. Last night.

Tonight's dinner was supposed to be pizza. I made the dough for the crust earlier in the week. Being the ~~stubborn~~ engineer that I am, I decided to give the ol' cast iron skillet a whirl. Other people have used them with great success.

The cast iron I used was a tortilla skillet (it has low edges) but you could most certainly use a regular walled skillet, just flip it over. I also used a pizza peel and it was very effective. If you don't have a pizza peel, you can use a cookie tray. Use one without edges so that the pizza will slide off (and lots of cornmeal underneath). I put the skillet on a cookie tray so it would catch the cornmeal crumbs. After cooking 6 personal pizzas there was a lot of cornmeal on the cookie sheet; I'm glad I used it.

Because I heated the oven to 550* when the cornmeal got off the skillet it would burn, smoke and stink. This is a small price to pay for delicious pizza. I told my husband that this was the first time that I could honestly say my pizza was better than Papa John's. He agreed and said, "Even if you had to make it?"

Yes - even if I had to make it.

Because he would clean up the mess. :)

I luv my hub.

Sewing a Dress

2012-01-13T19:57:00.000-08:00

My best bud talked me into taking a sewing class. I hired a babysitter (wish you lived closer, Mom!) and the four hours in class zipped by! Basically, we bought a shirt and cut it then added the skirt and apron. I still need to hem it, and I'm thinking I will embellish the apron with gros grain ribbon. It was really fun - I love having a little GIRL!!!

Last night I went to the mall to buy a shirt for the class and found these super adorable shoes for $6! Caroline loves them.

HB is an amazing seamstress. She made TWO dresses for her twins in the time I made one.

I learned some new techniques and grew more confident in my fledgeling sewing skills. I will be making more of these dresses.

Monday Needs a Menu

2012-01-08T20:44:00.000-08:00

I'll be eating out of the freezer a lot this next month - which brings me to the question: does anyone care that I post my menu plan? I'm thinking of discontinuing posting it.

Monday
fish
fried potatoes (requested by my #1 son)
collard greens

Tuesday
Mexican chicken from freezer
rice

Wednesday
leftovers
enchiladas or red beans and rice

Thursday
frozen soup
Artisan Bread in 5 minutes

Friday
pizza

Outside!!

2012-01-06T11:59:00.000-08:00

Sister has been incredibly clingy (read: cranky) the last week. Thankfully the last two days the weather has been incredible. Like 70* and sunny, incredible weather for January. Just another reason to love the south.

Being outside is what the doctor ordered. It makes us all happy - especially when I have dinner thawing, or in the crock pot. (Usually I don't want to go outside because I'm trying to do something in the kitchen.)

So, if you have cranky babies, children (or a bit cranky yourself) go outside. Just GET OUT. Take a walk. Sit in the grass, climb a tree, pick up trash, visit a neighbor, make a new friend, pet a dog, look for leaves, insects, etc. It will do you all good. All y'all.

On another note (but probably of greater importance): if you are a mother of young children, you must read this post. Right now. Click here. Be encouraged.

Then go outside.

Pizza: How I Love Thee

2012-01-04T12:00:00.000-08:00

I'm in love. I went to a kitchen store today and bought a pizza peel. Once home I did something I never do - I made pizza for lunch. (Yesterday I made dough from the book Artisan Pizza and Flat Bread in Five Minutes a Day watch the video.)

at one minute

three minutes

4.5 minutes

perfect!!

I made pizza in five minutes. It took longer for the oven to heat to 550* than for the pizza to bake. The crust is incredible. Crispy on the outside, chewy on the inside - as if it had been made in a brick oven.

I highly recommend this method: heat a stone as hot as your oven allows then build your pizza on a peel and slide it into the oven.

Next up: whole wheat bread...from Healthy Bread in Five Minutes a Day. The authors have a ton of videos on YouTube - check 'em out.

Monday Needs a Menu

2012-01-03T14:26:00.000-08:00

Yes, I realize it is Tuesday - but Hubby was home yesterday so today feels like Monday.

Sunday
(friends joined us for lunch)
Chicken pot pie - from freezer cooking day
mashed potatoes
green beans

Monday
burritos - from freezer cooking day

Tuesday
taco soup - from freezer cooking day

Wednesday
french onion soup - from freezer cooking day
grilled cheese

Thursday
pizza - homemade crust*
sauce - from freezer cooking day

Friday
red beans and rice

*HB, my best gal pal, has been making bread via Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day. It's delicious. And easy. I decided to borrow some books from the library by these authors. I am trying the pizza dough from Artisan Pizza and Flatbread in 5 Minutes a Day as well as a (mostly) whole grain bread loaf from Healthy Bread in 5 Minutes a Day.

Weekend Snapshots

2012-01-03T14:13:00.000-08:00

On Friday, my best gal pal and I rocked the domestic duties...well, at least the cooking part of domesticity. We made 7 recipies and took home 19 meals, each. Freezer cooking with a friend is the way to go.

On Saturday, Caroline had her first date.

Actually it was a family date proving we are a house divided. We watched the UK vs UofL game with friends. (Just to be obnoxious, I wore everything UK I could find - including pins from my college days, my grandmother's college ring and my UK charm (bracelet) from high school.)

The best team won.

It was also New Year's eve. One of our 85-year-old neighbors had a kid-friendly party (from 5:30-8:30). In the living room was a puppet theatre. The kids (and some adults) put on a good show.

Over the weekend I began using my 5 gallon continuous kombucha brewer (Thanks, Dad!).

And below is a picture of my extrovert wanting so badly to be a part of the teenage girls' football game. He decided to take a book outside and read until they asked him to play. Yes, he's barefooted in December and no, they never asked.

Christmas photos

2011-12-26T19:04:00.001-08:00

At my parents, we saw some moooos.

Shot some guns.

Some rode in a helicopter (thanks Uncle Glenn!)

Played with various weapons.

Thanks for the personalized gifts, Papa!

Played beauty shop.

And sipped a 'lil drink or two (photo at Major grandparents).

It's been a full weekend.

What Did I Do Today?

2011-12-21T18:34:00.000-08:00

His Acting Debut

2011-12-19T19:20:00.000-08:00

Mr Intensity can be quite the ham. Today he tested his mad skillz for the big screen.

Last December, Hubby and his team put the finishing touches on the video based marriage conference called The Art of Marriage. This December they are starting work on a manhood video series based on Dennis Rainey's recent release, Stepping Up.

The idea around today's video shoot was based on a true story. Bob Helvey, now in his 50's, remembers when he was a boy and had a paper route. Not to give away all the details, but he didn't quite finish the job. A neighbor told his dad who then called Bob up to manhood and told him, "a man never quits."

I think it will be a powerful piece once finished. One of our neighbors graciously allowed Hubby to film in his home. Hubby played the part of Dad and Mr. Intensity was the boy.

Sister needed a bit of Daddy time.

And I'm in love with these shoes.

The final scene was filmed in our living room. They worked hard all day, from 8am to 5pm. The final clip will only be three minutes. This experience gave me and Mr. Intensity a new appreciation for Daddy's work on the Art of Marriage! We were all tired.

At dinner I asked Mr. Intensity if he were ready to become an actor. "No way!"

Random Acts of Kindness

2011-12-18T20:08:00.000-08:00

The days are few before Christmas. How's the shopping going? Got your list whittled down? Need to buy a few more?

Instead of buying a gift, what about making a donation to a good cause?

The Suubi family, friends of ours in Uganda, currently live in Kampala but are desiring to move north to Gulu. In Uganda, renters must pay the six months lease in advance. The Suubi family needs help raising funds to pay for their lease. They are asking friends to donate just $5. Could you help out?

In Kelly's words:

We are SUPER excited about what God is calling us to in Gulu!! After the film Invisible Children was released in 2006 there was a FLOOD of NGOs (non-government organizations) to Gulu. They built huge buildings and started projects....but never really empowered the Ugandans to help themselves. And they CERTAINLY did not teach them about Jesus (most of the NGOs were there for purely humanitarian reasons...some even being anti-Christianity). So now that the LRA (Lord's Resistance Army) has left Uganda and moved into the DR Congo...the NGOs are leaving and heading to Juba, South Sudan. This has left a huge hole in Gulu....a hole that needs to be filled with Jesus. It is basically an unreached area...ripe for the harvest. We will be coming alongside a team that has been in the area for almost 2 years. They do life-on-life discipleship....mentoring, training, discipling, and releasing to do the same. It's amazing!!!

The house we will be living in is right next door to an orphanage....another "heart cry" we have....so we will be able to get involved there. We are also surrounded by a small village of African huts (a community that most likely was once an IDP camp....Internally Displaced People). This was another prayer we had about where we lived...we wanted to be near a community that we could become actively involved in on the community development front. We will be living near the Gulu airport so Benji can spend time with the MAF (Missionary Aviation Fellowship) pilots that fly in and out of there (he has wanted to be an MAF pilot since he was 8)....this was a prayer that Scott had that God answered with a YES. How God lead us to this particular house is a TRULY amazing story...one that will be a blog post next week!

The Suubi Family is asking people to donate $5. I am asking you to donate $5. Of course you can give more if you want!.

C'mon, this is an easy random act of kindness with many ripple effects. It would very much encourage my friends in Uganda but also eventually help many Ugandans.

I can't go to Uganda, but I can help my friends who are there. Will you?

Here's how: go to this site. Scroll down a bit until you see Suubi family. Put $5 in the first box. The second box is for comments. You can tell them that you heard about their work through this blog. Or, keep it totally random.

I'd love to see them exceed their goal but as of now it seems like a pipe dream. As of 10pm Sunday night, only 6 people have donated since Friday.

Let's get random! Take 5 minutes or less and donate $5 or more. :)

By the way, Suubi is not their real name. From their blog: Suubi is the Lugandan word for "hope." That is what our family wants to bring to the people we work with in Uganda....hope. We are currently working at Vision of Destiny School with Cariana Nash. Our most important goal continues to be pointing those we meet (both at school and where ever we go in Kampala) to the ultimate Hope that is found only in Jesus.

One last random yet entertaining thought: read their post about grasshopper day.

And be sure to donate!

Weekend Snapshots

2011-12-18T19:03:00.000-08:00

Saturday morning we went to the Argenta farmers market then hopped on the trolley.

Santa and Mrs. Claus were posing for pictures.

Mr. Intensity ~~hijacked~~ asked to help drive the trolley.

Mr. Intensity and Hubby went to see A Year with Frog & Toad at the Children's Theatre. After they sat down Mr. Intensity said, "This is the best birthday present, ever." {Thanks Gigi & Papa for the non-cluttery birthday present}

Went on a hot double date Saturday night with my man, HB and her man...yummy Istanbul.

We ~~picked up~~ played with Lego this weekend. The girls were here for several hours and I was amazed that they wanted to play so long.

Just a few (thanks to the Coletti's who gave us a giant box of random bricks!) We call this shrapnel. (Sister is about to put her thumb in her mouth in the picture.)

Monkey Boy got an early Christmas present. I thought if he wouldn't wear shoes, maybe he would like wearing a fun hat while climbing his tree.

The Art of the Brick

2011-12-16T15:27:00.000-08:00

This morning we went to the ~~Big Mobile Home in the Sky~~ Clinton Presidential Library.

To see The Art of the Brick (a Lego exhibit).

These three boys have been studying about Lego all week using this lapbook post. Homeschool Mommas of Lego Lovers - be sure to check it out. A big shout out to brave Amy Loften for spearheading this!! They met three mornings at her house and created a lapbook and did all kinds of Lego activities.

The boys especially liked this display.

and this one which is at least 4 feet tall. Made completely from Lego.

This is a scale model of the museum store, library (not pictured: Clinton School of Public Service).

We also visited the Fish & Game Commission and saw this flier:

On the walk back to the car, the boys rolled down the hill. Hilarious.

And, Argenta Farmers' Market is open tomorrow - Saturday 8am-1pm. See you there!

Thinking of Others

2011-12-15T07:34:00.000-08:00

Children are naturally self-centered. Let's be honest here - I AM self-centered.

Now that we're in the season of "make a list of everything you want for Christmas"it's like pouring gasoline on an existing inferno. I really have to fight to remember that the month of December is about Jesus, celebrating His birth, not fulfilling all the material desires of Julie.

And how do I help my children understand this? That is not a rhetorical question, I really would like some ideas.

So far this Advent we have been doing the Adorenaments (love them) and reading Prophecy Envelopes (Old Testament prophecy on the back, New Testament fulfillment on the front), both are products published no longer by FamilyLife. We are singing and listening to Christmas songs and watched the cute yet accurate cartoon, The Very First Noel.

I've wanted for years to get my act together and pull off a Jesse Tree; it's not happening again this year. Two years ago we put together a fun Punchable Advent Calendar.

One idea that we're kicking around in the Majors' household is being intentional with random acts of kindness. A few weeks ago I was inspired by this blog post about what a woman did for her birthday. That post had an overwhelming response she launched a website around the idea.

So...we have been talking about doing random acts of kindness and gearing up to do something for other people...to get eyes off self and onto others.

For example, the cookies we made were packaged in cute bags to be ready to give away. When Mr. Intensity's BFF left with his, I made sure that he understood that he was to give some away.

We visited a nearby elementary school and blessed the teachers with treats (cookies and popcorn popped in coconut oil). Mr. Intensity sorted through some stuffed animals to donate to the school counselor to use as rewards.

Down the street a widower got a visit from our whole family last Sunday afternoon. He really appreciated us coming. I must admit I was hesitant about taking the whole family, fearful that we would rock his world. We stayed about an hour and he was thankful that we came.

A single mom in Hubby's department has a need for meals (she's actually single, no kids, but has temporary yet extended custody of her brother's two small children). I had some extra in the freezer from the batch cooking day that I was able to give away.

There have been a few others, but one that is funny: I walked into the grocery and jumped in front of an elderly woman to get a cart for her. I grabbed a cart and extended it to her. Honestly, I wasn't thinking about trying to be good, or doing a random act of kindness. She was very surprised by my gesture and said, "Is this your good deed for the day?"

Busted. I said, "I sure hope there are more good deeds for me today."

Other things on our list (we are striving for more!)

- Mr. Intensity wants to bake more cookies to take to our Rwandan friend, Alphonse.

- There are leaves on the ground in our elderly neighbor(s) yard(s). The whole family can rake.

- One day we will go on a walk and pick up trash.

And we are praying for more ways to bless others. I'm all ears for you ideas.

Submarine Gum Experiment

2011-12-14T18:42:00.000-08:00

In college I bought the book Bubble Gum Science to get ideas for E-day {shout out to all the engineers out there!!} Even then I was thinking, "I can't wait to do experiments with my kids." I'm such a nerd.

Tonight, on his own initiative, Mr. Intensity did one of the experiments. We took a video to show the cousins.

A smaller piece of gum works better:

Monday Needs a Menu

2011-12-12T08:38:00.000-08:00

Sunday
CRAP - Clean Refrigerator And Pantry
We had some very interesting combinations.
Mr. Intensity ate PB & honey.
made ginger cookies
Cooked a whole chicken in the crock pot for later. Put the bones back in for broth.

Monday
chicken pot pie - from freezer
kale
corn - thanks Mom!

Tuesday
dinner guests
enchiladas
salad
apple pie

Wednesday
fish
sweet potato fries (baked in the oven with coconut oil)
green beans frozen from Mom's garden

Thursday
chicken and wild rice soup
bread

Friday
pizza

New Fence (well, partly new)

2011-12-11T19:30:00.000-08:00

Last Saturday, I walked into the backyard to see this glorious sight.

My hunka-hunka-burnin' love was replacing a section of the fence. The entire fence needs to be replaced; this section screamed the loudest since it just fell down.

This is what I heard.

Two 'tween neighbor girls and Mr. Intensity banging away at the old section. They first laid the fence flat and used it as a trampoline (it was rather loud) then they used hammers to remove the nails.

Hubby had no idea he would have such an audience (or did he?). None of us gave him instructions though. We all stood in awe. Sister decided to help out with her spade of dirt here and there.

Meanwhile, Mr. Intensity and the gang played in the creek. Well, he was in the creek with his rain boots - the girls watched him.

Isn't he amazing?

Now...on to other household projects...

Weekend Snapshots

2011-12-11T15:03:00.000-08:00

My weekend started Friday morning because that is when I taught Mr. Intensity to do his own laundry. Don't be fooled by the dramatic face. He was excited about learning.

Speaking of Brother, here's one of his antics from this week. It's only 18 seconds long and will probably make you laugh out loud. Well, at least I did. (BTW, my dad asked what she's carrying. It's a Cheetos bag that she found on a "nature walk." Brother filled it with pinecones, acorns, etc.)

Sister has a miniature tree in her room (from my sister). She is actually posing here. The first picture was blurry and when she saw it she went back in front of the tree and stood. Hilarious. Can we say, "Diva?"

Family fun at the Majors': diving 25 pounds of oats. We eat a lot of oats 'round here.

Sister loved this activity more than any other. She played in the spilled oats for a looong time.

Remember two years ago when he scored the trash can full of bottle caps? They're still in our possession. Today's game was to flick them in the bucket. Sister just loves picking them up, all the while singing Barney's "clean up" song.

The birds were fed this weekend. Our feeders have been empty a few days. We all enjoy watching them eat while we eat. As if adding to the table's conversation, Sister will periodically point and shout, "BIRD!" when she sees one perched. Her chair is closest to the window.

Yes, that is Brother without shoes. It is December and the thermometer read 30* when I took this picture. He played barefoot most of the day. Outside. I am not barefoot inside.

Daddy jumped on the trampoline with him.

Have I posted this one before? At least it has been a while. It is Mr. Intensity with extensions...or me when I was six.

Come, play along with Mom & Kiddo - post your weekend shots.

The Action Bible

2011-12-08T18:32:00.000-08:00

If you're looking to buy a bible this Christmas for an elementary aged boy, let me recommend The Action Bible. It "reads" like an illustrated novel. Perfect for boys and girls, I suppose - but in my experience it seems that boys really enjoy the comic book style. The illustrator worked previously for Marvel Comics and DC Comics.

We bought a copy for Mr. Intensity this summer and he has been very interested in reading it, cover to cover.

This video could have been filmed at my house:

Fashion Show

2011-12-07T11:32:00.000-08:00

All of these clothes were given to us. It is so fun to dress a girl!

Super fun red shoes I found at Goodwill. They have huge clear gems on the toes.

The bow resembles a Christmas tree.

These were taken at the FamilyLife Christmas party. HB gave her the dress.

And Little Miss Strawberry helped take Brother to SEEK today.

And not the most flattering photo, but you can see that I finished the apron enough for her to wear it. She is not quite sure she wants to wear it...yet.

Love Keeps No Record of Wrong

2011-12-06T20:59:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was a tough parenting day.

By day's end I was finally able to articulate why: my children's behavior is one indicator of how well I am doing as a mother. If they are disobedient, unkind, ungrateful, disrespectful or a host of other sins I take it personally. I feel like a failure.

I should not take offense at their ill behavior; they are not perfect. They will sin and more often than not I will be at the brunt of this behavior.

Even though I know that I can not make them perfect, I am still offended {shall I say angered?!} when they don't obey right away, all the way, and in a cheerful way.

Cleaning up after lunch I found myself making a laundry list of things I would tell Hubby when he came home. Action by action I was remembering what my child said and did, then what I said in response. I had a great list. I was becoming quite the martyr.

Then I was struck by a 2x4 from the Lord.

Love keeps no record of wrongs.

Ouch. I had to move on and forgive that loooooong laundry list that I worked so hard to create.

(Forgiving the wrong does not mean that I do not need to deal with the wrongs. There are days when I tell Hubby a list of wrongs and together we tackle them. Yesterday I was convicted that I was harboring bitterness and the recording keeping was not good for my heart.)

After the children were in bed my dear wise husband helped me realize that a key thing I can do in leading my children to maturity is to cause the consequences for sin to be painful. I cannot control them. I cannot make them want to obey. I cannot force them to cheerfully help out. But I can create painful consequences for stubbornness. When there is disobedience (action and attitude) I need to provide consequences to help shape their character. I need to expect disobedience and try to address it in advance.

Ephesians 6:3 promises children that it will go well with them if they honor their parents. A part of honoring parents is obeying and being respectful. Hubby and I have shared with our children about living in what Tedd Tripp calls the Circle of Blessing. Children and adults have the moment by moment choice to live long and prosper or make life hard and receive due consequences.

It is my job as a parent to help my children learn the joy in obedience and doing things even when they don't want to. This is character development. There are many things that I do on a daily basis that I don't necessarily want to do but I still need to do them.

I am praying for them to make the right choices. And creativity for me so that consequences sting.

Making Cookies

2011-12-01T19:23:00.000-08:00

Mr. Intensity made sugar cookies today with his BFF. If you're looking for an easy {super easy} sugar cookie recipe this is it. You use cold hard butter, don't refrigerate the dough and it rolls out perfectly. It's the only sugar cookie recipe I will ever use again. {Thanks to my sis for passing it along.}

The boys thought they were major chefs. It was cute.

And they were very serious about the cookie cutter selection.

And generous with the sprinkles!!!

Below they're playing "guard the cookie monster." A tower of blocks was just around the corner and didn't want her to knock it over...yet. Sister loved the cookies. What's not to love about butter, white flour and white sugar?!

It's not finished yet (having technical difficulties with my machine) but I've started making my mini-me an apron to match mine. She loves trying on my aprons.

Silly

2011-11-29T19:35:00.000-08:00

These make me laugh out loud.

Monday Needs a Menu

2011-11-29T05:19:00.000-08:00

Sunday
Black Bean Soup
(we had smoked chicken for Thanksgiving which provided bones for AWESOME broth for cooking beans)

Monday
Stir fry with cabbage
rice made with smoky chicken broth

Tuesday
wraps - black beans and rice
salsa, guacamole, sour cream, cheese

Wednesday
broiled fish
sweet potato fries (baked)
lacto-fermented cranberry apple chutney

Thursday
Marlboro Man sandwiches from the freezer

Friday
homemade pizza
or soup from the freezer

Hubby's Skillz

2011-11-28T19:08:00.000-08:00

My man has been working like crazy lately. Actually, he works hard everyday.

Today he finished a sketch he has been working on for a while. We've been married twelve years and this is the first drawing project I've seen. I knew that he had talent but ... wow. Never in a million years would I have been able to draw what he did.

Earlier this summer FamilyLife began the much needed process of updating Passport to Purity, a thirteen year-old product, that despite its age, continues to increase in its influence every year. Passport to Purity is a weekend getaway for a parent and child to help prepare for the teen years. Topics include peer pressure, purity of the heart, dating, and a biblical view of sex. Along with updates to the workbook, there has also been updates to the audio. Some are super fun. Other changes are very cool...like the scripture songs are now by Seeds Family Worship.

His sketch will be printed in the Passport to Purity student workbook. The four panels fit together to make one continuous page. Pre-teens will write on this page in the workbook to help them think through and establish physical boundaries with the opposite sex.

Over and out. Just wanted to brag on my man.

Weekend Snapshots

2011-11-13T20:18:00.001-08:00

My weekend started Thursday morning. With painted nails (because I wouldn't be washing dishes for 4 days!) I headed to Dallas for the Weston A Price Wise Traditions conference. An hour later I realized I forgot my wallet; thankfully Hubby met me halfway with it. *bless him*

I stuffed 1,200 conference bags all by myself. Maybe I'm exaggerating. I had a little help from my friends. And I met some of my favorite foodie bloggers.

I could say more than you care to hear about this conference (and will save the details for Real Food in Little Rock). Mostly the food was incredible. Look at this butter. There were 800 pounds of it. Seriously.

Among many other things, I tasted "bubonic tonic" which was beet kvass made by fab ferments. Potent stuff. Other things I tasted for the first time: liverwurst, braunschweiger, lox, caviar, sablefish, pemmican, butter oil and a bunch of food by Zukay.

Lunch and dinner during the conference was served buffet style {read: I ALWAYS ate too much.} The Weston A Price Foundation teaches about traditional foods and its preparation. Below is an example of the yumminess: clockwise starting at noon - fermented cucumbers (pickles), raw cheese, Amish honey mustard, liverwurst, fresh butter, roasted beet salad, a few blueberries, sourdough bread, and cheesecake with a nut/date crust. Also that day for lunch was chicken soup or veggie soup (in pork broth). Do you understand now why I ate so much?

Meanwhile, the children were slaving away at home. Sister washed and hung her diapers to dry.

And Hubby had them rake the yard.

I left the conference early so I could see them before bed. I missed them like CRAZY! I came bearing *treats* of the traditional kind...caviar.

How was your weekend?

Winter Wheat

2011-11-08T12:26:00.000-08:00

The threat of frost looms at the week's end so today I pulled up my last two bell pepper plants. Which, by the way, still had fruit on them.

The kids had fun digging in the soft soil. This summer I used grass clippings as mulch to help retain moisture. We turned it under the soil. Then we planted a winter wheat crop, using the same wheat berries I use for bread making. The cover crop will help to revitalize my soil - details here.

Sister says, "This looks like chocolate but it definitely does not taste like chocolate!"

To help disguise the wheat berries from the birds, we added rice hulls to the top of the soil. I got them at the farmers market this summer with intentions of adding it to my compost. However, most of my food scraps go to the freezer and eventually to my farmer's pigs. Composting, in the traditional sense at my house, has come to a screeching halt.

Beauty

2011-11-07T17:16:00.001-08:00

I love this tree. I think the color deepened overnight. Three neighbors commented today at its loveliness. Gorgeous.

From my kitchen widow I can see my neighbor's golden delight in contrast.

And I painted this $3 Goodwill beauty.

She got a new shade, too.

Monday Needs a Menu

2011-11-06T19:56:00.000-08:00

Sunday
Red Beans and Rice

Monday
make rolls
frozen soup (not sure which one I'll pick)
make yogurt

Tuesday
chicken salad on rolls
popcorn

Wednesday
cheesy Mexican casserole (in freezer from batch cooking day)
rice
green salad
bottle kombucha

Thursday - Sunday
Momma's in Dallas, Texas at the Weston A. Price Wise Traditions Conference
**woot*woot**

things Daddy can make:
-grilled cheese
-frozen pizza
-scrambled eggs
-leftovers (if I leave a list on the fridge :)
-dinner at Chipotle

Weekend Snapshots

2011-11-06T13:49:00.000-08:00

Friday night we had a chili pot luck in the front yard, complete with chiminea bonfire. After the kids were in bed the adults came back for conversation and s'mores.

Saturday morning Brother had ice skating lessons again. Once home he discovered the ashes in the chiminea. The boys played in the ash (tried to make cement) and Sister was VERY sad that I wouldn't let her play in it, too. Instead we sprinkled some on my garden and in the flower beds.

The boys used charcoal as chalk. Note: it's November and the boy is still barefoot.

Since my kitchen is cooler than 78* now, I have to melt the coconut oil. Below you can see I'm scooping it from a 5 gallon container into a mason jar that is in a pot of warm water.

Saturday afternoon he read for a very long time. (Friday afternoon the kids and I went to a used library book sale. ) Sister played in this blow-up raft that was stowed in the garage.

My sweet tooth won. I made a batch of no bake cookies (with mostly shredded coconut instead of oats) and now they're all gone. Seriously.

The view down the street. Beautiful.

Up the street: boys playing football in the yard. Look closely because I was too lazy to walk up the street for the photo.

Hubby has worked all week(end) to prepare notes from the Bonhoffer book for Dennis Rainey. Eric Metaxas is coming to FamilyLife for interviews this week.

The weekends are too short!!

Niña & Pinta

2011-11-02T11:59:00.001-07:00

Replicas of Colimbus' ships are docked in Little Rock behind the Peabody hotel and will be there until early Tuesday morning. (Take cash with you to pay the $7 entrance fee.)

The ships were much smaller than I expected them to be.

The ship was steered by the rutter stick (fancy name I forgot) not a steering wheel, which was invented 80 years after Columbus' death.

Below is a map of the fleet's voyages (not including trips to Spain.)

And our favorite: explosive devices.

Monday Needs a Menu

2011-10-31T20:15:00.000-07:00

Monday
crock pot vegetarian chili

Tuesday
Poached eggs in marinara
(it's fast, nutritious, and cheap)
toast

Wednesday
dinner guests
enchiladas from the freezer

Thursday
Thai noodle meal

Friday
pot luck in my yard
I'm thinking chili is easy.

Saturday
red beans and rice

Costumes

2011-10-31T19:17:00.001-07:00

She was a bee.

He was the Declaration of Independence (a repeat idea from two years ago but new and improved costume.)

He had people sign the back. And passed out copies of the Declaration of Independence.

We trick or treated before dark then came home to pass out candy. Thanfully we ran out of candy so he volunteered to give away a LOT of his loot. Yay!

Weekend Snapshots

2011-10-30T20:28:00.000-07:00

Our pumpkin carving ceremony was Wednesday night.

Sister soon lost interest in pumpkin, she found a stray lamp shade and walked around with it on her head. Nothing short of hilarious.

Thursday was Hubby's b-day. Choosing his special dessert was agonizing. Finally he landed on a pumpkin roll. It was yumma-lish if I do say so myself.

Watch out bad guys: this babe is packing heat.

Saturday - we drove about an hour west/north to Perryville to Heifer Ranch's 40th birthday party. Heifer's International headquarters is in downtown Little Rock.

First animal we touched was a llama. But walking from the car, we passed a ~~bunch~~ ~~pack~~ herd(?) of lambs. Sister chuckled aloud as if to say, "Oh, I know why you guys brought me here!" then she began making her sound for a dog (woof woof). She was beyond excited to see so many dogs (except they weren't dogs.) The girl has some crazy liking to dogs. She loves them like nothing else.

She's at the stage where she loves to imitate the sounds of animals.

We saw a demonstration for milking goats. Brother had the opportunity but didn't want to participate.

These turkeys were especially LOUD. They were free-ranging all over the ranch.

Below, Mr. Intensity is standing in front of the water buffalo. We both had to stop and sing the water buffalo song...hence the silly look on his face.

We listened to a bee keeping and honey demonstration.

And about the differences between incandescent and florescent lights, which was interesting. However, after talking with the demonstrators it was clear that they were talking the party line (buy the energy efficient florescent bulbs) and had not done their own research. I've not done much research other than to know there is controversy surrounding the use of florescent bulbs, which are known to have toxins like mercury in them.

What's not to love about a camel?

The boys could have stayed here all day, cleaning out the fence rows, feeding the camel named Abu.

Not only are there animals at the Ranch, there is a Global Village which is used to teach about different cultures.

First stop was Guatamala, where he made a tortilla.

Sister spied a rabbit (which says BOP BOP for hop hop) in the "rabbit tractor" which can be moved around the yard.

We also saw how bricks are made.

The next village was in Thailand. There, was a demonstration for bio-gas and how they repurpose manure (into methane). I didn't get a picture because I was trying to multi-task...watching a toddler up the steps and steal candy while talking to a volunteer.

Said toddler with sucker in one hand and percussion in the other. She's now in Africa.

The boys found the drums.

Here's a step pump used to water the garden as well as animals.

The boys pose in a shack that represent a great majority of the world's population that live in the slums.

Sister was on the outside looking in.

The last stop in the global village was a demonstration about terrace gardening. The volunteer below shows a simple level.

On the left is a hillside being destroyed by erosion while the village on the right has used terracing. It was very convincing.

We ate lunch picnic style in the parking lot / pasture just before heading home.

{picture idyllic picnic}

Once home we grabbed tickets to the Children's Theatre (ok, I forgot them actually.) We saw Cinderella, A Rockin' New Musical in 3D. Very super fun for kids and adults. He made the mask before the show.

I came home with a migraine and slept 12 hours. This also happened the last time we went to the theatre, which causes me to wonder if there is something in that place that I'm allergic to??

Sunday - The guys went to Barnes and Noble, their favorite Sunday afternoon activity. Sister and I walked down to our community garden to check on the progress. She's sitting in Randy's lap. He's the mastermind behind our garden and the architect on our street who is really into developing community.

That was our weekend. I'm ready for another!

The Neighborhood Hangout

2011-10-28T14:18:00.000-07:00

I love this tree. Not only is it BEAUTIFUL right now, but my son loves this tree. He has taken to spending most of his awake hours in the limbs of this sugar maple. That's not much of an exaggeration. At one point Hubby and I were concerned that the tree would be damaged from excessive climbing, bungee cord wrapping and other abuse. We decided that the tree could probably take it from a seven year old. I hope.

Admittedly the above picture is not the greatest. I wanted you to get a feel for the placement of the tree. From my kitchen window, I can see the tree. Most of the time I also see a monkey in the tree, except when he is wearing camouflage. Then I must look for the movement. The window to the left of our front door is the dining room. We can see the lovely tree from there, too - as well as all the other happenings on our street. The dining room is one of my favorite places in the house and it is next to the kitchen, both in placement and where I spend my time. :)

At lunch today we could see "TRUTS" as Sister likes to call trucks. Of course Brother wanted to check them out. I called the other stay-at-home momma on my street, she gathered her brood and we walked up the street to the action.

Sister took her place on the porch of our up-the-street neighbor, finding Race for the Cure paraphernalia to wear. I love that she knew what to do with the lei!

Brother and the other neighbor kids ran around like kids should on a perfect fall day. Outside.

The porch we were sitting on, those neighbors, weren't home. I texted the owner to tell her we had porch envy and were missing her; she was missing the action. That neighbor was very sad to be at work. My heart was full that I was at work.

At about 3:30 the busses start rolling home and the teenage girls are milling up and down the street.

When I talk with these girls, I am so glad that I am not an 8th grader anymore! Oh the drama that happens between the six of them. But I love that they want to come play in our yard. Well, at 14 years old, one does not actually play except with their cell phone. Their bodies are with us, though they are probably dreaming of being elsewhere. I am glad for their presence, at least they are not alone in front of a computer screen.

Nonetheless, Mr. Intensity tries to entice them to play tag, climb his tree, jump on the trampoline or other shenanigans. The preschool girls like to build salads from weeds, jump on the tramp, play in the Little Tykes Car in the driveway or just sit in Momma's lap.

My heart is very full when they are all here. It seems like our house is beginning to be the place to hang out and I love it. I want more of it.

Since the weather is more tolerable, we are outside a lot. One of my neighbors is an architect and sent me a link to Playborhood.com where the author intentionally made elements of his yard to attract neighborhood children. The space is used like a front yard family room. What a fabulous idea!

Hubby and I would like for our front porch to be more inviting, a more usable space - maybe where we could eat outside. No rush though. A few weeks ago we ate outside as if it were normal to eat in the front yard.

For now, I'm living a dream. Life is good. I am content.

Weekend Snapshots

2011-10-24T12:39:00.000-07:00

Last Monday Hubby and Mr. Intensity went to Kentucky for Hubby to work on raising new financial support. I had high dreams and aspirations of crossing a lot off my "to do list."

BUT I was stricken with a very horrible stomach ailment. I didn't eat for 2.5 days, or do much of anything for that matter.

Then the heavens parted and I felt better. First on the list was painting the kitchen. It will be a while (weeks, months? years?) before we are able to install a tile backsplash like we want, so I decided the next best thing would be to paint it.

When the countertops were replaced, we just pulled off the old backsplash. It's textured with glue and stuff.

First pass was painted two tones: pacific and quarry (darker). Lots of friends came over and gave their advice. In the end, I decided that it is my kitchen and I can do what I like.

So I painted over the lighter pacific. Eventually the backsplash will be a lighter color so it will help the kitchen to be lighter. Let's face it, I have a HUGE kitchen and could paint it all black and it would still look huge.

I also got out the spray paint. Two very 80's brass lamps were blessed with a new persona. They are so much happier now. I only wish I'd taken before pictures.
And I began painting these plantation shutters. There are SIX of them. Four cover the below window and two more on another window. (A big shout out to my neighbor, April, who gave me the plaid chairs and has helped me with decorating.)

Meanwhile, Mr. Intensity is loving being spoiled in Kentucky. He lost another tooth this week.

A trip to Bass Pro Shop found him as the new owner of this cross bow. (The other grandparents also spoiled him - with a Lego set - but I don't have pictures of it.)

As if driving nine hours to Kentucky wasn't enough, they decided to drive three more to visit more family in Indiana. In red is Gretchen, one of Hubby's favorite cousins. To her left is Joel, Hubby's brother who lives in Louisville, KY. On the very end in pink is Naomi, who was born on Caroline's birthday...mere minutes before Caroline.

Speaking of cutie Caroline...she helped scout out the new donated cypress boards that will be used for raised beds in our neighborhood's community garden.

I decided to pick all the green tomatoes in my raised bed this weekend. Fingers crossed that they turn red.
The boys came home about 7:30 last night. Sister was over the hill excited that Brother was home.

Here's a funny story that I've told lots of people this week: She would walk around the house looking for Buh-boo so I decided to call him. I asked that he just speak on the phone. Ever the obedient child he clammed up and wouldn't talk. Then he decided to growl/roar, very loudly, like a mad animal. I thought it was rather frightful sounding. Sister thought it was the most hilarious thing. I suppose that is the sound she hears most from her brother.

That's our week/end. How was yours?
Come play with Mom and Kiddo and tell us all about it.

Monday Needs a Menu

2011-10-24T08:08:00.000-07:00

Monday
Garam Masala Lentil Soup with Coconut Milk (per John Isaac's request "it's my favorite!")
rolls

Tuesday
boeuf bourgignon from freezer
over potatoes
green beans

Wednesday
left overs
pumpkin roll

Thursday
Hubby's birthday!! He requested:
falafel & tatziki
tabbouleh
hummus
feta cheese
choc. chip whoopie pie cookies - HB's recipe

Friday
homemade pizza

Girl Clothes

2011-10-18T21:06:00.001-07:00

One thing is sure - this little girl has a wardrobe!! Many generous friends and family have given us some seriously cute threads. I think I've purchased 2 pairs of pants and a shirt for her when she was 6 weeks old (Gap sale I couldn't refuse.) Everything else has been given to us.

Below: the girl on the shirt has a bow, like the girl wearing the shirt - made by my mom's college roommate.

Below my sister found the faux fur vest at a consignment shop. It is very much loved by the wearer. She wears it at least once a day if not all day.

Another adorable find from my sister! The skirt is just too precious.

She found a chocolate bowl in the dishwasher. A girl after my own heart.

This last picture is from today. Who else can get away with fur and a bottle brush in the shower?

Weekend Snapshots

2011-10-16T17:59:00.001-07:00

It was an average weekend.

Friday was above average (big cooking day) so I rested a LOT on Saturday and Sunday. As in, I napped for 1+ hours both days.

Saturday morning Mr. Intensity takes ice-skating lessons with his best buddy. Groupon offered a deal I couldn't refuse. {insert ice-skating picture}

Sunday morning firemen were testing the hydrant across the street.

Exciting times.

Come play with Mom and Kiddo and linkup your weekend snaps.

Monday Needs a Menu

2011-10-10T13:29:00.000-07:00

Sunday
make your own Mexican salad - Black beans & rice
(boasting here: Delicious rice. To make the broth, I used feet plus 2 smoked chickens in a Big Green Egg and it was the best broth I've ever made.)
bottle kombucha

Monday
Mulligatawny Soup from freezer
rolls
lacto-ferment turnips and radishes like these

Tuesday
boeuf bourguignon from freezer
put chicken in crock pot overnight

Wednesday

beef and chicken enchiladas

I will triple recipe for the freezer

Thursday
pizza

Friday
Another batch cooking extravaganza with HB. I love cooking with my BFF and I love having all the meals in the freezer. Cooking in huge batches like this saves so much time.

Weekend Snapshots

2011-10-09T15:43:00.001-07:00

We like to read 'round here.

Notice that Sister got piggies this week. (That's pig-tails in her hair. So cute.) Brother is logging his reading hours for the library; there will be a carnival at the Thompson library in December. Children are rewarded with play money to spend at the carnival for the hours spent reading. He is very motivated.

Hubby and Brother have started building a tree house. Hubby expects it to take at least a year to build because he is making Brother do all the work he is able.

Below Brother is cranking a wrench (at least that is what I think it is called. :) He is loving this project.

'Tis the season for pumpkin muffins. My parents sent the cute recipe holder - the metal box bottom left corner of card.

My container garden is about to peter out but I harvested one jelly tomato and two red peppers today. My tomato plants have plenty of blooms but the autumn sun is setting behind the trees and they don't get enough sun now.

The jalapeno plant is rockin' out. There are more peppers than I can use.

Saturday night I hosted a cooking class, teaching traditional methods of food preparation. Below you see chicken feet I used in broth. This picture totally grossed out my neighbor who said she would never eat at my house again. Her comment caught me off guard because her house is decked out with gory Halloween decorations.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I suppose.

Link up with Mom and Kiddo and show off your weekend snapshots.

Weekend Snapshots

2011-10-02T19:40:00.000-07:00

My parents arrived Thursday afternoon and that is when our weekend officially started. Well, at least for me and the kids. Hubby still had to work on Friday.

Mr. Intensity, Sister and I took Mom and Dad downtown Friday morning to tour the capitol and eat at The Root Cafe (which was one of the best meals I've eaten at a restaurant in a long time.)

Before heading downtown Friday morning, Mr. Intensity unloaded on the grandparents everything he had memorized thus far this semester (which is a lot) plus showed them his lapbook on the Sun King. Since both my parents are retired public educators, they esteem and reward education. Mr. Intensity was rewarded with a nice Lego set.

My mom's birthday is tomorrow, she requested a pound cake. Delicious even though it didn't look like a winner.

Something you should know about my side of the family: they really don't know how to rest. Dad started cleaning my nasty, filthy, haven't-been-cleaned-in-40-years windows and just couldn't stop. He ended up taking apart 5 storm windows and cleaning them this weekend, which was no small feat.

And see those bushes outside that window? They have really been getting on my nerves. Not only do they look too big from the curb, they are blocking precious sunlight into my home.

It all started with a few snips just to reach the windows to wash them.

And Mr. Intensity asked to make them into flower arrangements. And before long, the bushes were cut to the ground. GONE! Awesome I tell ya.

I'm confident the bushes will grow back. If they don't it will just make it easier to dig them up in the spring.

Now you can see the window go to the ground.

The front of the house looks a million times better.

The whole family got in on the action! We even found a rake for Baby Girl.

Note giant pile of bushes by the curb on the left of the picture. YAY!

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for coming this weekend. I'm thankful for your visit. :) Happy birthday, Mom. I hope you come back soon. Maybe we will rest the next time?

How was your weekend? Join the fun linky fun with Mom and Kiddo.

Monday Needs a Menu

2011-09-28T12:28:00.000-07:00

I've continued to meal plan but I've failing to post them. My parents are coming tomorrow - YAY! Dad hasn't been to Little Rock in oh, about 8 years. I'm excited to have them here.

Sunday
Roast in crock pot
mashed potatoes
mustard greens

Monday
shredded beef tacos (from roast)
in corn tortillas (for gluten-free guests)
all the fixin's

Tuesday
left overs

Wednesday
Thai noodle meal

Thursday
chicken pot pie from batch cooking day
mashed potatoes

Friday
Boeuf Bourguignon from batch cooking day

Weekend Snapshots

2011-09-25T14:01:00.000-07:00

Saturday, after going to the farmer's market, we checked out the Family Day at Heifer. Their international headquarters is here in Little Rock. Note the tree hugger in red, below.

There we learned some differences between locally grown foods on small farms and foods grown industrially. Below you'll see Mr. Intensity doing {intense} jumping jacks to illustrate the energy or resources used to get a tomato from the farm to the table. It is no surprise that locally grown tomatoes use less energy.

But the bigger point driven home in my mind is the fact that fewer chemicals are sprayed on locally grown produce.

We also learned that this is a rabbit, not a bunny. Rabbits are eaten; bunnies are pets. Heifer gives animals to poverty stricken people around the world to help them have a sustainable source of food and income.

Sister really liked the animals though she would not touch any of them.

On Saturday afternoon one of our neighbors hosted a tailgating party on their porch. They even moved the TV out there so we could watch the Hogs ~~loose~~ play. The weather was perfect for sitting on a porch and chatting.

The boys played football in the yard while the men watched the game.

That was our weekend. What did you do? Be sure to link up with Mom &Kiddo.

{Thanks to Mom & Kiddo, I know that there is a difference between less and fewer. These kind of grammatical mistakes drive her crazy. I couldn't participate in her round-up and make a blatant mistake. Confession: I had to look up the differences.}

My 'Lil Painter

2011-09-21T18:22:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week we walked down to the neighbor's. They were painting in the driveway. Sister has been dying to test her mad skillz with the paintbrush and I finally relented.

She was in heaven.

Today was one of my neighbor's 37th birthday. We had a kid-friendly party in the driveway. Complete with paint -- and birdhouse gourds. (Thanks, Mom & Dad for the gourds you sent...last year!)

Sister could have cared less about the gourds. She was in her element with the paint.

Look at that diaper all saggy. It was so cute.

Full-bodied paint, people.

Then I plopped her in the utility sink in my laundry room. Yes, be jealous, I have a utility sink.

Bonus material - don't you just wanna eat her up?!

PS - For the record, my son would have never sat in a chair at her age. He was in constant motion needing adult supervision and intervention at all times.

PSS - As of yesterday she is WALKING!

Weekend Snapshots

2011-09-18T18:32:00.000-07:00

Friday afternoon he had a birthday party. It was pirate themed. While not suggested, he asked if he could go dressed as a pirate (since he already had the costume). Of course!

At the party he received an eye patch and earring. The teeth were already missing!

Saturday morning, my helper hung diapers to dry.

I've told y'all before, and will say it again: she just came out different from her brother.

I made chicken salad.

Then Mr. Intensity and I went to the Arkansas Arts Center.

For his birthday, he asked the grandparents for season tickets to the Children's Theater.

Because we're season ticket holders (that sounds so fancy!) we were invited to make a craft before the play, Miss Nelson Has a Field Day. He made a pennant to cheer on the home team. I also bought a sweet treat (I'm such a softie!)

The theater is small and has open seating. There aren't any bad seats.

It was a very fun performance.

After the performance, we spied a hot air balloon preparing for take off. So we had to go check it out.

On Sunday, I think he was inspired to write his own play. The parents were invited to view it (sorry, no cameras allowed).

And, Sunday was our 12th anniversary. We had a babysitter for Saturday night, but after dropping the kids off at the sitter's, my head hurt so bad I asked Hubby to take me back home. I slept for 13 hours.

My mother-in-law sent this card.

Mr. Intensity said, "Magaw sends the best cards!" and went on to mention the punch line from 3 or 4 that she has sent.

And that was the weekend. How was yours?

Monday Needs a Menu

2011-09-12T08:43:00.000-07:00

Monday
Italian Beef Sandwiches with Provolone and kimchi
to do: make rolls, soak beans and rice

Tuesday
red beans and rice
to do: thaw chicken and cook overnight in crock-pot

Wednesday
chicken salad wraps with popcorn
to do: make pizza crust for Friday

Thursday
fish cakes + sautéed summer squash
to do: bottle kombucha

Friday
homemade pizza

Saturday
celebrate 12 years of marital bliss!

The 7th Birthday Party

2011-09-04T19:13:00.000-07:00

As in years past and past, he planned this birthday party. Is anyone surprised that it was army themed? :)

Grandma Majors (aka Magaw) wrote a very cute invitation poem, that ended with:

To attend our soiree
You must do these three:
Wear your old clothes
Leave your presents at home
And tell a code word to me.

The Army uses this word
I'm sure you have heard
it used when a soldier gets dressed
JI loves this stuff, never has enough
And for clothes it's the very best!

So when the boys arrived, they met the drill sergeant (aka Hubby) who asked them for the code word. And if they were prepared for danger. The party would be potentially dangerous.

Caroline and Magaw were in charge of the name tags - or headbands - soon to be bandages. But I'm getting a head (pun!) of myself.

Because ours was a dangerous party, the drill sergeant suggested to the moms to outline their sons in chalk. For identification in the event of death or injury, of course. Side note: Hubby asked most of the boys, "Are you prepared to die?" And most said, "Yes sir!" But one said, "Um, no. I don't want to die." Hubby told him to be outlined anyway.

The next station was for practicing handwriting. Just kidding. Sort of. :) The boys were asked to write a short note to a soldier. It would be included in a rapid deployment kit (RDK) from The Military Ministry. RDKs include a New Testament, Our Daily Bread devotional booklet, and Knowing God Personally booklet.

Then Major Majors (really- he retired as Major Majors!) applied camo face paint. One boy said, "Mrs. Majors, I did not want face paint last year. I do not want it this year, either." It just made me chuckle. I wouldn't want it on my face either.

Once everyone had arrived, the boys were asked to line up on the fence. Birthday Boy salutes the drill sergeant.

The drill sergeant gave instructions for the obstacle course. Note the big-o-knife on his hip, for drama. He walked them through the course, station by station, before letting them go through it one by one.

They marched to the trampoline where they would get 3 grenades (water balloons) to launch over the net and try to hit the brown trash can.

Then they were to crawl under the trampoline to the next station: Nerf gun shooting.

After firing down range they would turn to get a buddy (aka stuffed animal) to complete the course. The boys were to protect their comrade in arms until the very end. But along the way, their friend would be wounded. The red wheel barrow would aid in transporting the wounded soldier to the army hospital.

Once in the hospital, the soldiers would remove their headbands and doctor their comrade. John Isaac had fully equipped the hospital with pills and fermented cod liver oil.

With bandages in tact, the boys would race their fallen soldier in an ambulance back to the starting point so the next soldier could begin.

They really got into their parts as soldiers.

Some more than others.

A good time was had by all. Even the adults had a great time. And we couldn't have done it without the adults! Thank you to Grandpa and Magaw Majors, Alphonse M, and Justin B.

Magaw brought camo plastic cups for the party. At this point the boys didn't care what the cups looked like. They were so hot and thirsty they just wanted water!

And I made cupcakes = easy peasy. The birthday plates were leftover from the party in the park on Thursday.

Caroline loved the extra attention.

It was a really fun party. I loved that it was low stress. Mr. Intensity and Hubby planned it all. Plus it cost me next to nothing to host.

Go see what others are doing this weekend. It works for me.

Birthday in the Park

2011-09-04T19:08:00.000-07:00

His birthday was on Thursday, the day we've been eating dinner in the park. (It was also Claudette's birthday. Her daughters made a cookie cake to celebrate. Her husband bought her a new bike! :)

Entertaining Baby

2011-08-31T17:05:00.001-07:00

We used this contraption on a recent car trip to entertain Baby. It continues to be a great toy, especially during school hours.

It's a Parmesan cheese shaker and milk jug tops. She also loves putting them in and pulling them out of the gallon bag.

Building a Discipling Culture

2011-08-29T13:02:00.000-07:00

This resonates with me from Building a Discipling Culture by Mike Breen and Steve Cockram:

Jesus did not command us to build the Church; in fact, he only mentioned the word twice. But he did call us to make disciples, literally to make learners after him.

Effective discipleship builds the Church, not the other way round. We need to understand the Church as the effect of discipleship and not the cause. If you set out to make disciples, you will inevitable build the Church. If you set out to build the Church, there is no guarantee you will make disciples. It is far more likely that you will create a consumer who depends on the spiritual services that professionals like yourself provide for them.

The Lord has chosen people - not plans or programs - to spread his message. Yet somehow most of our attention and energy has shifted form making disciples to developing programs, buildings and budgets. As the next generation emerges, the endeavor must now be to move the Church away from the things that distract us from Christ's call toward that which will create and sustain a living, organic body of relational disciples.

Birthday T-Shirt

2011-08-29T09:11:00.000-07:00

When he was 5, I made this t-shirt.

I sewed fabric to the inside of the shirt then cut the shirt with pinking shears.

For his sixth birthday, we used freezer paper. After ironing to the shirt, we squirted bleach on it.

This year, a friend gave him some camouflaged iron on letters. The boy loves his camo.

The front says SEVEN.

And the back has JOHN ISAAC. He wore it to Comm. Central today and thinks he's the bomb.

We've Entered a New Stage

2011-08-29T09:01:00.000-07:00

This morning, Hubby found Sister in the crib without a diaper. Thankfully it was (only) a wet diaper.

After breakfast she climbed on TOP of the table. A first.

This afternoon we made birthday cookies for Brother. She helped. Soooo fun!!

My baby is growing up. Sniff.

Weekend Snapshots

2011-08-28T20:02:00.000-07:00

He doesn't turn 7 until Thursday but birthday fever has begun. Aunt Whitney gave him these Star Wars cupcake papers and toppers. He loves them.

We tried a new cycling mode of transport for Sister. I think she liked it better than the seat behind me, but she still didn't last as long as we'd like her to. Note the hand in the hair - this is what she does when she is tired. One thumb or finger in the mouth and the other hand plays with her hair.

She will be 16 months this week and is not yet walking. But close. Hubby put on her first pair of shoes today and it was really funny watching her trying to figure them out.

Lastly, tonight we decorated cupcakes for him to take to Comm. Central tomorrow. He wanted to use icing in a can (yech!) but it ran out after 19 cupcakes (yay!). I made this icing for the remainder and it is delicious. Seriously good. I'm not sure I'll ever make butter cream again.

That was our weekend (minus some honey-do projects, that I should have taken pictures of: The Great Garage Clean Out '11, and hanging of curtains.) How was yours?

Monday Needs a Menu

2011-08-21T14:33:00.000-07:00

Sunday
Caprese Salad
Quiche

Monday
chicken pot pie (from freezer)
green beans
mashed potatoes

Tuesday
crepes
cook whole chicken in crock pot for tomorrow's dinner
peach parcels if I can get to Collins Orchard

Wednesday
chicken salad wraps
popcorn popped in coconut oil

Thursday
Asian Noodle Salad with chicken
(pot luck in the park)

Friday
pizza

Saturday
leftovers

Weekend Snapshots

2011-08-14T19:41:00.000-07:00

Again this weekend we enjoyed biking around Two Rivers Park. Sister was incredibly cute on the bench; I was seconds too slow with the camera. The boys were watching anglers on the river.

Sunday afternoon we hosted a "back to school ice cream party" and encouraged our neighbors to bring school supplies to donate to a nearby underprivileged elementary school.

Mr. Intensity was so excited about this party. I'm not sure which fired him up more: the ice cream, the people at his house, or organizing the school supplies.

Our generous neighbors supplied:
42 boxes of crayons
22 pairs of scissors
8 pkg markers
130 pencils
36 erasers
2 lunchboxes
10 zipper pouches
9 pencil boxes
3 boxes of band aids
7 containers of lysol
13 pkg loose leaf paper
36 spiral notebooks
35 composition notebooks
22 bottles of glue
12 sticks of glue
10 folders
12 cups of applesauce
50 paper lunch bags
2 bottles of hand sanitizer
28 boxes of tissues

Sister loved the fact that six teenage girls were making over her.

Note the picture hung over the couch. Hubby hung a bunch of pictures Friday night. Love him.

We're participating in Mom & Kiddo's Weekend Snapshots. Why don't you?

Linky Love

2011-08-09T08:35:00.000-07:00

My friend Rachael sent this link on biblical parenting. It is so true and one of the best articles I have read on motherhood in a very long time.

Another great article on parenting by Kevin DeYoung - HT: Planted by Streams

Make your disposable razor last 20 months. I've been doing it for about 2 months and the trick really works.

What school lunches look like in 20 countries. And we wonder why Americans are so sick and fat?

Yesterday after school we made these soft pretzels from Smitten Kitchen. Super yummy and easy to make.

The Kitchen (You Will Be Jealous)

2011-08-08T11:24:00.000-07:00

I've hesitated to show the kitchen because it's not finished. Because we have little kids and I'm a realist, it may be a few years before it is finished. So, I'm showing you what we've done so far.

This is what the kitchen looked like the first time I ever laid eyes on it. It was love at first sight.

Look at all those cabinets! It's hard to tell from the pictures, but the kitchen is in a "U" shape, with about 30 linear feet of countertops. Forty doors and twenty drawers. Yes, be jealous.

We decided to move the oven and knock down the wall. The red hood blob below is Mr. Intensity and is standing on carpet. Hubby laid 18 inch tile in that room, the kitchen, and laundry room - about 450 square feet! He says he will never lay tile again. The man is getting old.

Our contractor built (some of) the cabinets back.

The two following pictures are what you see when you walk in from the garage.

See the wires hanging from the ceiling? This is what Hubby patched on Saturday.

The contractor painted the cabinets and replaced the countertops with new laminate. We were able to reuse the hardware, they're beautiful copper. The sliver of light to the right of the refrigerator is a window in our dining room. A swinging door separates the kitchen from the dining room.

This is my glorious bar. In the corner of the adjoining room you'll see our homeschool stuff. For now the placement works.

At first we thought we'd put our kitchen table beyond the bar. But we also have a formal dining room (that has carpet, boo.) We like eating in the dining room because we can see the street while we eat. As a family of extroverts, we like knowing who's out and about. :)

What's left to do:

-paint the soffits above the cabinets

-tile the backsplash (Hubby wants to be creative here)

-finish patching ceiling, paint it

-install pendant lights above the bar

I'm very satisfied with the progress.

Monday Needs a Menu

2011-08-07T20:10:00.000-07:00

Monday
to do: make oatmeal bake
Black Bean Soup
watermelon
fried okra (for me only! :)

Tuesday
Curry with chicken & rice
to do: make rolls, mayonnaise

Wednesday
chicken salad
brown rice salad
popcorn
peaches if any remain!

Thursday
(picnic in the park)
quiche
to do: bottle kombucha

Friday
red beans and rice

Saturday
leftovers

Sunday
ice cream party!!!
I plan on eating my weight in ice cream.

Weekend Snapshots

2011-08-07T16:49:00.000-07:00

Our weekend began with Hubby working on dry wall. He started the process of patching the ceiling. This is where the kitchen was divided from the adjoining room. Now we have a glorious bar.

Saturday night we had friends over for dinner.

Sunday

I lacto-fermented banana peppers, a half gallon's worth.

And made a ginormous pot of black bean soup. (I cooked about 8 pounds worth of beans on Saturday - no exaggeration. The remainder I froze in 2 cup portions.)

See the red peppers in the above picture? When I bought them at the farmers market, I thought they were stunted red bell peppers. After slicing them for Saturday's dinner my hands told me they were lethal! As if my burning hands weren't a big enough clue, I took a big-o-bite out of one. Rookie move.

This afternoon the kids and I passed out invitations for an ice cream social for next weekend. Along with eating ice cream, we will collect school supplies for needy children at a nearby elementary school. I've been meaning to pass out invites for a while but it's been so cotton pickin' hot that we've stayed inside. Today we had a brief thunderstorm and the weather cooled to 85*. It felt great. :)

That's our weekend. See what others are doing at What Do We Do All Day?

Adultery (of the Mind)

2011-08-05T06:27:00.000-07:00

We are in the midst of training hearts at the Majors' house. It's kind of cyclical. Sometimes we obey more readily than others. Presently obedience is not the first response.

Many mornings I read a Proverb to start my day (there are 31 Proverbs and 31 days in a month, or there about). As I was reading Proverbs 5 about adultery - my mind went to parenting.

Proverbs 5:11-14
and at the end of your life you groan...and you say, "How I hated discipline, and my heart despised reproof! I did not listen to the voice of my teachers or incline my ear to my instructors. I am at the brink of utter ruin in the assembled congregation."

Yesterday I was talking with another mom when she came to pick up her son from a play date. The boys had performed a play for me, complete with acts, scenes, props, costumes and LOTS of action! It was very fun to watch.

The other mom commented that she liked to see her son use his imagination, especially on the cuffs of having another boy at her house recently (she didn't tell me who). The other boy asked repeatedly to play video games (when she had told him that they were not going to play videos when he first arrived.)

My mom friend commented something to the effect of, "It's almost like they're addicted (to video games) and don't know how to use their brains for imaginative play."

The above conversation was echoing in my mind as I read Proverbs 5: 22-23

The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him, and he is held fast in the cords of his sin. He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray.

{I feel like I need to say that if you play video games at your house, that's fine. For us, and our child, video games are complete destruction.}

The main point I wanted to make in this post is that I see correlations between parenting and adultery. Have you seen this?

Proverbs 5:1-2
My son, be attentive to my wisdom; incline your ear to my understanding, that you may keep discretion, and your lips may guard knowledge.

Math Drills

2011-08-04T18:20:00.001-07:00

Anyone else kicking themselves for not doing math over the summer?

After struggling to complete a few math problems in his workbook, I quickly wrote numbers on paper and cut them out.

Then we did whole body math drills.

I called out the problem and he jumped on the answer.

It was much more fun.

Wanna Be Lifeguard

2011-08-03T18:10:00.001-07:00

Record high today of 113*, pool temperature was 95*. It's hot.

Swim Team Party (& Heart Conversation)

2011-08-02T21:05:00.000-07:00

The 2011 Tsunamis - Mr. Intensity in green, front row.

Our neighborhood swim team celebrated the season's cessation tonight with a pizza party. Mr. Intensity and I made cookies this afternoon to take to the party. As they were hot from the oven, we talked about how yummy they would be and negotiated the proper amount to eat - both right away and at the party.

Imagine what went through my sugar-nazi, real-food crazed mind when at the party I saw him eating a piece of cake with artificially colored hydrogenated icing. After he had eaten his portion of cookies.

Maybe you say, "What should you expect?! He's SIX!"

Agreed, he is a child and often deprived of sugar. I should expect sugar sneaking every now and then.

The look on his face as I walked up to him shouted his admittance of guilt. "Did you eat your cookies already?"

Yes.

"And now you're eating cake?"

Yes, but it is just a small piece.

"That was not our agreement. You may finish the cake but no more sweets this week. Or, throw away the cake now and we can talk."

Oh the agony. It was painful for me to watch the turmoil on his face. He really struggled to reach his decision.

He threw away the cake. (Secretly I was cheering!!)

All the while, his best bud was saying, "Dude! Why are you throwing away that cake?!"

Because I love sweets.
*******
The 90 minutes between the park and bedtime, I was storming the gates of heaven asking the Lord for wisdom. The years are few that I get to train his heart. Teachable moments like this don't cross my path very often (or am I too lazy to acknowledge them?)

I felt like the Lord gave me the story of Jacob asking for Rachel's hand in marriage and being deceived by Laban. After all, Nathan used a story to convict David of his sin. Mr. Intensity loves good stories. There was a season when every.single.night he would ask Hubby at dinner to "tell a scary story."

Of course I paraphrased, updated and embellished the story a bit. As I was talking about the wedding day, I asked, "Do you know what brides wear on their wedding day?"

He says, "A BIG HOT DRESS."

Yes, a big hot dress and a veil.

Interrupting, he says, "Was there cake?! You know there is always cake at weddings."

Oh my son, we'll get to the cake in a moment.

I told him that indeed Jacob realized that he had been deceived and married the wrong woman. Rachel's daddy had given Jacob the wrong daughter. Jacob had worked for seven years for the one with weaker eyes. She wasn't as beautiful Rachel.

How do you think Jacob felt? Do you think he was mad? sad? frustrated? angry? There is such disappointment when we are deceived!

He said, "I would have felt all those things."

It was such a tender moment.

I told him I had felt those things. The look on his face told me he didn't understand. I told him I felt deceived when I looked over and saw him eating cake when we had agreed earlier on the sugar allotment for the day.

I asked, "When you reached for the cake, did you have a feeling that you should not get cake?"

He said, "Small one."

That, my son, is the Holy Spirit trying to guide you to righteousness. Listen to it. Do not harden your heart and ignore it.

Jesus said, "He who is faithful in a very little will be faithful in much."

Daddy and I want to be able to trust you with big things one day. Seemingly small decisions build your character. We pray that you will become a man of integrity, that you reject foolishness and cling to wisdom.

I feel like sweets are an idol in your life.

He scoffed and disagreed.

I reminded him that his greatest interest in Jacob's story was about cake. Tonight he was in trouble because of cake. When asked about his school day today the best part was making cookies. I think he was beginning to see why I thought sweets were an idol in his heart.

No dessert tomorrow. The fasting from sweets would have been longer if you'd not thrown away cake so quickly and respectfully.

Graciously he accepted these words. He was being convicted of his sin. I was so thankful for his tenderness. Not often do I get to see his sensitivity; tonight was a gift from the Lord. A gift to Mr. Intensity that he was caught. My gift was that the Lord gave me the time and the story to help my son process the wrong.

We prayed for God to forgive him. The Lord brought to my mind 1 John 1:9 -

If we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Oh how thankful I am for His forgiveness! As far as the east is from the west, that's how far he's removed our transgressions.

Monday Needs a Menu

2011-07-31T20:29:00.000-07:00

Back in the saddle of menu planning!!

Monday
falafel
quinoa
homemade ice cream (to celebrate first day of school!)

Tuesday
Italian beef (crock pot)
homemade rolls
peas
watermelon

Wednesday
tacos (from Italian beef)
salsa

Thursday
picnic in the neighborhood park
hamburgers
deviled eggs
peach dessert (if I can get my paws on peaches!)

Friday
fish cakes
green beans

Saturday
buy some purple hull peas at the farmers market
and okra
to make this yumma-lumma-goodness.

(I made it yesterday and it's already GONE. Sooooo good.)

The Weekend

2011-07-31T18:05:00.001-07:00

Participating in Mom & Kiddo's Weekend Snapshots - here's our weekend:

Saturday starts with a farmer's market in our driveway. If I'm not up by 6am, the farmer's diesel truck wakes me. This is the trailer he parks in my driveway. We've been doing this for about 1.5 years - every Saturday. My farmer is Amish-Mennonite and he doesn't want his picture taken - but I've blogged about how I met him and visiting his farm.

We went to pool -twice- on Saturday. It has been HOT. {Imagine a picture of us swimming.}

Then I gave the guys haircuts. The below picture is not of a small animal. My husband had really shaggy hair. Now he looks more, ahem, professional. And topped with a distinguished silver crown. :)

Sunday we rode our bikes through Two Rivers Park. Now that the bridge is open we can get there in less than ten minutes. Wahoo.

We rode for an hour and Sister let it be known that it was way too hot and she was ready to be in the air conditioning.

Once home I've been preparing like mad. Tomorrow begins our homeschool co-op. Summer, for all intents and purposes, is over for us. Boo.

But we've had a fun summer.

Leaving Colorado

2011-07-26T22:14:00.001-07:00

It was a refreshing conference. I'm so glad we came. (Dreading the return trip.)

Here are some fun memories:

Caroline climbing the stairs in Moby Arena during the main sessions. She would climb then stop and wave. Über cute.

Matching FamilyLife shirts. Need I say more? (they were free & "suggested" we wear them.)

The "short" family hike to Horsetooth was 4+ hours. We were all sore & everyone sunburned except Caroline. Gorgeous view of the Rockies.

Brother let Sister brush his hair.

So sweet.

Arkansas here we come!!! School starts Monday. Summer is over. :(

The First 60 Years

2011-07-23T20:22:00.000-07:00

Tonight Campus Crusade for Christ celebrated its 60th Anniversary in Moby Gym at Colorado State University. I'm beyond thrilled that Mr. Intensity was in the crowd - to see pictures and hear stories of lives changed because of Christ. Sister couldn't stand all the excitement and needed to go to bed at 7:30 so I watched on the internet from our room.

One of the first people interviewed on stage was a medical missionary to Brazil. It turns out that this lady was the first person Vonette Bright led to Christ at UCLA. The lady said she has written a letter to Vonette every year on her spiritual birthday. Vonette said the first 100 people that she shared Christ with became followers of Him and that is how she knew that she was in the will of God. Bill, her husband and founder of the ministry, was keeping track. :)

There were so many wonderful stories. And heart-filled laughter. Gotta love Bob Horner and his eyebrows. Tim Hawkins is entertaining after the main session -Mr. Intensity is thrilled to get to stay up and hear his jokes.

Also tonight we celebrate Vonette's 85th birthday. She is an amazing woman. I want to be like her when I grow up.

My heart is full.

Tomorrow we will see more of God's incredible creation as we take a short family hike up Horsetooth Reservoir, just outside the city limits.

Photo Booth

2011-07-20T15:56:00.000-07:00

Mr. Intensity LOVES to play with Photo Booth on my Mac. He was over the top excited when he saw a real, live, photo booth at the county fair Monday night. Here are our snapshots.

CSU 2011

2011-07-20T08:39:00.001-07:00

After the 18+ hour drive to Colorado, we're able to have some FUN. :) We're here at Colorado State University (CSU) for a biennial staff training with Campus Crusade for Christ - which is the parent organization for FamilyLife.

The first night is a county fair kind of celebration. The kids, especially love it. Mr. Intensity tried his hand at a huge trampoline. The look on his face was classic: "I'm scared out of my pants but I love the adrenaline here."

From the trampoline, he went to the bucking bronco. Of course he also loved playing the games and riding other carnival games.

Sister DID NOT like childcare. Poor thing screamed for THREE solid hours. She does like the cafeteria food. Presently (9:45am) she's napping and I hope to try childcare again this afternoon so I can attend some seminars.

Yesterday and today we heard from Francis Chan (author of best seller Crazy Love). Yesterday's message was especially powerful. He started the time by telling stories from his time overseas with persecuted believers. He said, "If my life makes sense (to the world), something's wrong." Going on, he said sometimes "advice from well meaning people sometimes takes us away from ( or talks us out of) doing the will of the Father."

The one verse he specifically used was from Revelation 3:1 "...You have the reputation of being alive but you are dead." There was a time for confession of sin. It was powerful.

Another one of my favorite things about being here at this conference is worshiping with ~5,000 other believers who are passionate about Christ. Last night Mr. Intensity went with us (he took the arena pictures.) The music is powerful. OK, I realize I've overused the word powerful in this post - but there is something truly special about being with so many people who love Jesus.

At last night's major meeting, the name was changed from the 60 year old name Campus Crusade for Christ to cru. Here's a link to FAQ.

Another fun thing about being in Colorado is riding bikes. Mr. Intensity's Kids' Camp is about 3 miles from our dorms. This is a flat city so we're able to ride our bikes. Sister often sings or jabbers at us when we travel. It's very fun.

Yes, I'm wearing pearls. :)

The Second Nine

2011-07-17T17:19:00.000-07:00

We drove nine more hours today. Surprisingly, Sister did much better today.

Some of our activities:
Caribeaners

Cutlery and milk tops in Parmesan shaker

Freedom!! (while stopping for gas)

Yoga during naptime.

And Brother?

He had fun, too.

How to Entertain a Baby... the first 9 hours

2011-07-16T14:28:00.001-07:00

Compact mirror & sponge.

Stickers

Momma's bracelet

Stop for a drink of water.

Rope

Straw & wiffle ball

Chains

Her fav?

The sponge & mirror.

(I'm really dreading tomorrow. It's been a long ride.)

Today's Snapshots

2011-07-14T20:13:00.001-07:00

Best buds.

The girl likes to gnaw on a chicken leg...and hold a fork.

Car Games for Babies

2011-07-11T19:28:00.000-07:00

It took us 9+ hours to drive back from Kentucky - most of which Sister let it be known that she DID NOT like being in the carseat. That girl has some lungs, I tell you! Hubby or I sat next to her the entire time with hopes to help entertain. Our antics didn't always work but here are a few things that did:

1. Cutlery. I don't know why, but spoons, forks, knives are incredibly entertaining. Add a cup or two to the mix and you've got a party! Sister is also fascinated by pens of all sorts.

2. A purse or billfold - pictured below is a zipper purse that I won from bloggy friend Jo Ebi in Japan. (She is one incredibly talented gal! Check out her Etsy shop.) In the zipper purse I keep cards that I need but don't access frequently (insurance cards, blood donor card, gift cards, etc.) Baby Girl also enjoyed pilfering through Hubby's wallet with lots of crinkly receipts.

3. Snacks - of course every baby will eat their weight in snacks. A new favorite for us is dates. Pictured below are extruded dates. You can buy them in the bulk section of the health food store or I've been ordering them from Azure Standard. I like these dates because you can feed them one at a time (which helps to burn a lot of time) and because the baby can actually digest them (raisins don't digest at this age.)

pictured is a quart jar - it looks a bit out of proportion. :)

We've got another 18+ hour trip coming up so I'd love to hear your ideas.

Related: a post I wrote three years ago about traveling with small children - lots of links in there.

Week in Review

2011-07-11T09:27:00.000-07:00

This was the third summer that my sister and I have enjoyed our brother's houseboat on Lake Cumberland. Our children especially LOVE being at the lake. This year they had so much fun with the "watermat." The thing is humongous; all four children could walk on it at the same time.

Baby Girl even had her time to shine, though she chose to crawl instead of walk.

On our way to Louisville from the lake, we stopped at Abraham Lincoln's Birthplace. I lived in Kentucky 24+ years and never visited.

The visitors' center had a mock cabin set up for the children to see what it could have looked like when Abe was born.

The actual birth site is where the temple looking building is.

In front of Hubby was the entrance to a spring. Mr. Intensity let me hug him there. Something was in the water, for sure.

Being HUGE fans of Theodore Roosevelt, we were very excited to see that he laid the cornerstone for the building.

Inside the fancy building is the log cabin that was originally thought to be the birthplace. In the recent past, the History Channel came to do a spot on Lincoln's birthplace and after doing carbon dating testing realized that this could not be the original cabin. It is however, very similar to what he could have been born in.

From Lincoln's birthplace, we went to Hubby's parents' in Louisville. There we found Uncle Joel, Aunt Jen and cousins James and Naomi (who was born on the same day as Caroline). I'm terribly bummed that I didn't get a better picture of the girls.

Mr. Intensity had a BLAST with fireworks - that Grandpa bought 50% off after the 4th of July.

It was a great week!

See what others are doing at What Do We Do All Day?

First in First Swim Meet

2011-06-30T19:55:00.000-07:00

This morning I wasn't sure he would even race. For my control-freak son, there was too much unknown. After the team practice though, his confidence was boosted enough to agree to sign up to swim in tonight's meet. He swam freestyle and breaststroke, winning first in both races. What I probably should't tell you is that he was the oldest kid in one race (he narrowly missed the cutoff by a few months) and the only kid in the second race. And he was only required to swim half the length of the pool.

Either way, it was a huge confidence booster. Not that he struggles with self-esteem. But we are looking forward to many more meets.

eating watermelon - rind and all.

Sister was his biggest fan. Actually she was everyone's fan - clapping and even squealing with delight when everyone else was clapping. Of course I'm biased but I thought it was super cute. Next week she is 14 months old and still not interested in walking. I'm soooo OK with that.

Mr. Intensity in far right lane.

The atmosphere was very encouraging and really fun. I'm so glad our neighborhood has a pool!

Another fun thing about our new neighborhood is the fact that we've been doing a pot-luck every Thursday night in the park just outside the pool's gate. One of the things I took tonight to put on the grill was cabbage.

OK, so I know that everyone who just read that last line is probably gagging. Don't gag until you try it. I was snarling my nose when I first heard it ...but when I tried it... heaven. Seriously.

Coarsely chop a head of cabbage (like in 1/8 sections) and GENEROUSLY apply pats of butter and sprinkle salt on it. Wrap in foil and grill that baby for 30 minutes or so. If it doesn't taste sweet, it's not done - put it back on the grill. Delicious I tell you. Try it. Everyone who tried it couldn't believe how good it was. Just don't tell me it's gross until you try it.

Organizing Potatoes & Tomatoes

2011-06-29T10:04:00.001-07:00

Administrative skills are not from me.

Other sights of summer: tomatoes picked early because of the durn squirrels. They like to scratch my precious babies when they're just turning orange. I HATE SQUIRRELS!!!

Rainy Day Play

2011-06-28T09:15:00.001-07:00

This morning he was typing before breakfast. The typewriter was left in the house when we moved in.

Later this morning he asked for an activity. I gave him one of his favs: baking soda and vinegar. EDIT: the mess was CRAZY by day's end.

And a sweet pic from yesterday ...

It's a Deal!

2011-06-24T14:12:00.000-07:00

As a parent, I strive to match the severity of the consequence to the crime.

Usually when there's whining or other negative behavior when the verdict is reached, I feel like I've reached my goal.

Conversely, when my child says with enthusiasm, "It's a deal!" I need to go back to the drawing board.

I failed today but he got a steal of a deal.

Identifying Glasses

2011-06-21T18:52:00.001-07:00

Somewhere on the web, I read this great tip: use silly bands to identify glasses. It's quite helpful when there are nine drinkers in the house.

Mr. Intensity's cousin, Nolan, with silly bands on his glass.

Expecting Visitors

2011-06-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

My sister and her fam are coming today. First time she's been to my house in about 9 years. I'm excited and so is Mr. Intensity.

Monday Needs a Menu

2011-06-12T20:03:00.000-07:00

This week:
Mr. Intensity is going to 4-H camp this week from 9am-3pm. One of his friends, BB, is staying the week with us. While they're gone during the day, I'm going to work to clean out the garage and prepare for a garage sale. We'll go to the pool in the afternoons once Sister wakes from her nap.

Monday (pool is closed)
from freezer: chicken pot pie & green beans
bake granola
soak flour for bread

Tuesday
summer stir fry: squash, zucchini, mushrooms + feta, corn
bread maker bread
make kombucha
soak flour for tortillas & pancakes

Wednesday
mini-batch cooking day: tortillas and pancakes
from freezer: enchiladas

Thursday
pot luck at the pool - taking burgers, deviled eggs, cucumbers
to do: make pizza dough

Friday
pizza

Saturday
from freezer: chicken a la king

Sunday
from freezer: falafel
hummus
quinoa tabbouleh

First Words

2011-06-12T19:33:00.001-07:00

It's no surprise that Sister's first word was DaDa. He's hung the moon. Nor was I surprised when she said BuhBuh (Brother). Today's word, her third, surprised me. It wasn't Mama and I'm trying hard not to be jealous.

Wonder what it was?

Bow. Like, hairbow. It was clear as day. And she kept repeating it. Love that lil feminine thing!

Last night we went to hear our neighbor play timpani for the Little Rock Wind Symphony.

He let Mr. Intensity give them a try. I was thankful he didn't break them.

They gave away ice cream and we gladly imbibed.

Arkansas Peaches

2011-06-11T10:16:00.001-07:00

Oh how we love you, Arkansas Peaches.

Monday Needs a Menu

2011-06-06T10:13:00.000-07:00

Sunday -
Chicken a la King (from my batch cooking day)

Monday -
quinoa, chard & feta (chard is from my garden!)
summer squash
corn, green beans from freezer

Tuesday -
Coconut Curried Beef

Wednesday -
stir fried rice with cabbage & anything else in my fridge

Thursday -
Sandwiches & sides at the pool

Friday -
Pizza

A Peek into Our House

2011-06-05T12:20:00.000-07:00

Our first cucumber!!

The first "jelly bean" tomato didn't make it for the photo op; it was eaten. YUM!

I've been wanting to make an appliqued tie shirt for Mr. Intensity for a loooong time. Finally made the time to clean out the guest room to find my sewing machine. :) Since he's wearing a size 6/7, I had to lengthen the tie from the pattern.

And Mr. Intensity? Creative as ever. Yesterday I bought a box of straws and he's had the best time with them. I *thought* we'd drink from them but he had other ideas.

While Hubby is at the pool with the kiddos, I'm going to make Chocolate Chip Whoopie Pies to celebrate Magaw's birthday (wish you were here!) They are so delicious.

Outside Fun

2011-06-02T12:31:00.000-07:00

They're pretending to cook food for animals.

Lots of This Lately

2011-06-01T06:53:00.000-07:00

We are LOVING our neighborhood pool. It is about two blocks away which is very convenient to walk. Last night we took our dinner and met friends there for a very fun time.

Sister loves the baby pool.

HB & her cute twins.

HB gets in the water with the children!! I think the water is still a bit cold and try to stay only in the baby pool. Call me a wimp.

Mr. Intensity on far right.

Monday Needs a Menu

2011-05-30T19:26:00.000-07:00

I've not posted menus lately because, um, we've not had one. Starting this week, I'm back in the kitchen! A kitchen, I might add, that is painted (well, the eating part of the kitchen) and living room. It took FIVE FULL DAYS of painting (I was optimistic thinking it could be done in two). My mom was here and was such a huge help with the kids and the ten million other things that she miraculously accomplished. That woman is an amazing working machine. Hubby has been hard at work, too - laying 18 inch tiles over 450 square feet of floor. We can see the end of this phase of home projects. And we both want to be done.

Let me encourage you to make a menu. It is very worth the time and effort it takes to plan. Fail to plan, plan to fail.

Monday
debone 4 whole chickens, start broth
cold Oriental Noodle Salad
take potato salad to pot luck
soak black beans and brown rice

Tuesday
cook black beans
curried rice with chicken

Wednesday
marathon cooking day with HB - we're making freezing a ton of real. good. food.
dinner: enchiladas

Thursday
make pizza dough
leftovers

Friday
pizza
soak rice

Saturday
coconut curry beef in slow cooker

Another thing that I'm beginning to enforce is a routine for snacks. My boy will eat. ALL. DAY. LONG. It drives me bananas. I made a spread sheet for the fridge. Across the top are his lunches and we rotate snacks - week A & B. So far, he's loved the structure. And he loved the parfait this morning.

New Photo

2011-05-30T18:16:00.000-07:00

For those of you who read this blog via email or a feed reader, you may be unaware that we have a new photo at the top of the blog.

It's much more fitting to our life than the last posed picture.

Making Ordinary Extraordinary

2011-05-29T20:15:00.001-07:00

It's a yogurt parfait in a fun cup. I'm hoping he likes it.

Guess What I'm doing

2011-05-24T14:53:00.001-07:00

Painting paneling.

Long Road Trip? My Secret for Babies

2011-05-18T12:34:00.000-07:00

It works best if the sucker stays in their mouth.

My Mom

2011-05-07T20:38:00.000-07:00

My mom (Gigi) with Caroline

Mom, I am so thankful for you. As I get older the more you are appreciated. Thank you for all your self-sacrificial love - both when I lived at home as well as now. Truly, you are a woman to be praised.

When I think of childhood memories, there are many. Overwhelmingly I remember feeling loved, knowing that you cared for me and wanted what was best for me. Though I was aware of your ability to love others then, it wasn't until I was an adult that I realized how hard it is to love so many so well.

Primarily, I see you speak love to others by serving them. Whether it is deep cleaning my house when you come (oh how I love it!), or taking a meal to a lonely elderly person, or buying things for the underprivileged children in your classroom, you love, love love on people by serving them.

You have cared for Dad so well during his cancer treatments. I know it has not been an easy road for either of you. In the midst of taking care of him, you are also looking out for the needs of other friends (LL to mention one -there are many more.)

I'm thankful that you gave me a solid foundation of believing the Bible is true, that God can be trusted, that I can talk to Him through prayer, and pointing me to Jesus when it seemed like my earthly friends had deserted me.

It is really fun for me to see you interact with your grandchildren! John Isaac especially loves it when you wrestle with him (though I wonder how much longer this can last since his feet are as big as yours!)

Gigi with the grands

And since it is Mother's Day, I mustn't forget my mother-in-love. She is such a dear, sweet woman - who is also a woman to be praised. After all, she ~~endured raising~~ bore my strong willed husband! (No wonder we have a Mr. Intensity!) Pam, I am grateful for your countless hours of painting, your continual generosity in so many ways, but above all - your prayers for our family. Pam Majors is a prayer warrior like no other.

me, CJ, Pam Majors, Brenda Salyer

I am a blessed woman to have a wonderful Momma and mother-in-love! Happy Mothers Day!

Happy FIRST Birthday!

2011-05-07T19:35:00.000-07:00

Magaw mailed the princess crown.

Has it been a year already?!

Happy Birthday, little sister! We love you so much and you've added so much fun to our lives.

You love your brother like crazy. Actually I think your first official word was "buh-buh."

You laugh out loud often and it is contagious. You laugh at random times as well as mimicking us.

Today we had a first: Daddy told you no. You stopped what you were doing and did something else. Your parents had heart attacks then spontaneous rejoicing!

You are such a sweet blessing to us.

I think my muscles are getting bigger

2011-05-07T09:22:00.001-07:00

Monday Needs a Menu

2011-05-02T09:10:00.000-07:00

Monday
leftovers

Tuesday
Thai noodle meal

Wednesday
spinach quiche
to do: make kombucha, rolls or bread, crackers and pizza dough

Thursday
poached eggs in marinara

Friday
pizza (need to post my crust recipe, I'm still perfecting it.)

Saturday
getting inspiration from the farmer's market
farm fresh chicken being delivered.

Civil War Tribute

2011-04-29T13:18:00.001-07:00

Occasionally we go downtown just to wander. The weather was too gorgeous today to stay inside so we wandered.

First stop was the Arkansas Statehouse, which is the oldest standing state capital west of the Mississippi.

Inside are some neat exhibits, of paricular interest is one showcasing Civil War veterans and memoriabilia. The exhibit opened today.

Tomorrow (Saturday 9am-7pm) there is a flurry of Civil War activity planned. We'll probably wander on back.

-Julie