"Obey your teacher and be kind to others."

For the past few days, that is what I've been leaving with A as she heads off to school. We want her to remember to obey her teacher and to be kind to others around her.

She began K5 last Thursday as a half day student. She already loves her teacher and enjoys being at school. It is different being on the other side of things now. I had been so used to being the teacher and now I'm a parent. It's fun to hear about her day and to see what she brings home in her back pack.

Because I want her to keep learning and growing at home, I've begun putting out activities on the table for her to do before lunch. Here are a few ideas that I've begun or that we will do this year:

Leap pad (paid $2 for it at a thrift store and it came with one book:)

phonics games like Boggle Jr.

number and letter puzzles

dry-erase writing tablet

quiet reading time

A Beka curriculum phonics for K5 (I'm on the hunt for a used set)

Family Fun activities--I just subscribed to this magazine for a few dollars and the first issue came yesterday. We are sooo excited about this!

We are thrilled with what her teacher is doing in the classroom. They do lots and lots of activities. Reading is encouraged, but the "sight word list" is comprised of many words that can be read phonetically. That is a big reason why I want to do some supplemental things at home, like mentioned above. If we're able to adopt her, we'd like to put her in a private Christian school next year, and we know that teaching her the A Beka phonics will help her out so much and she won't be lost next year. She will be an awesome reader.

In my living room, I like to write phrases with the scrabble tiles. A and I came up with the one below (her name is blocked out for privacy). Notice the letter K--it has a five next to it. It was just perfect. "A_____ is in K5."

We are celebrating the beginning of school and having so much fun. Will you pray that A has a great year and obeys and makes wise choices with her classmates?

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you." Ephesians 4:32

A lifesaver in the kitchen

I know it's been a while, but things have been super busy around here. With fighting a cold and getting A ready for school, life right now is having me focus on more important things.

But--I wanted to share with you something that has been motivating me to do better at meal planning and cooking during this busy time of taking care of two little girls. My sister-in-law told me about E-mealz, a website devoted to helping others with this endeavor. For a small monthly fee you get a 7-day menu plan (just dinners) and shopping list at the grocery store of your choice (there are a couple to choose from or you can choose an option to use another store). They keep your shopping cost low by searching for deals and listing store-brand items on the shopping list. They do it all (minus the shopping, of course!).

Isn't that amazing? Even though I have always enjoyed putting together a meal, things get crazy around here and sometimes it forces me to do something easy--which is not always the healthiest food to eat, either. But with this system, I am cooking meals again and everyone loves them. I chose the 4-6 person low-fat plan, using Wal-mart as my store. I always have leftovers for the next day, so that helps, too. I don't usually choose all seven meals, but rather my favorite 3-4, which lasts all week.

So, what do you think? Check out the site today if you'd like to learn more about it (click on the link above).

Below is a picture of one of our favorite meals so far--Apple Baked French Toast....yum!

The wait is over!

Something has happened in our garden area that we've been waiting for all summer long.

Want to know what it is?

Nope--it's not the sunflowers, but they are really looking beautiful!

It's not even this corn that has grown so much these past couple of weeks.

And although the potatoes are ready to be harvested, it's not this either.

Okay--you can take a look now:

Yipee! We got our first two eggs. Quentin came in yesterday afternoon and was so excited to show me.

They are smaller than our store-bought eggs, but they look great! Can't wait to use them soon. They should get bigger as time goes on.

I asked Q what chicken he thought gave us those eggs. He thinks that it came from Mary Poppins (the golden one between the two black ones).

As I went around with the camera this morning taking pictures, I had a hard time with the chickens, as they kept following me around. I thought I was going to miss the above shot as they ran towards me so fast! Then, as I zoomed in on Turkey Lurkey, she got really curious with the camera. It took me a few tries to get this picture:

I can't wait until all of the chickens start laying eggs. We're going to have a ton of eggs once they get going. Anyone want to come and get some? We'll have plenty for you!:)

From my latest thrift store shopping experience....

We have done some thrift store shopping this summer, but this past Thursday was one of the best yet! When I take the girls with me, it becomes a challenge to really sort through stuff and find those "gems", so I took this opportunity while Q had the girls to go out and see what I could find. I went looking for a big basket, but did not find one. Instead, I found these items at my favorite thrift store in town--Sister Carmen's:

Backyardigans Hopsplash: 25 cents! The box was torn, so I really hope it works when we set it up this week for A to have fun with.

Soft letter and number cube: 10 cents! Little S is having fun with this already.:)

Rainbow fish puppet: 10 cents! I love collecting characters from children's books. This is a nice addition to my collection.

Little House on the Prairie book set: $2.25 (25 cents per book) This set is going to one of my nieces for her birthday. She's going to love it!

My Little Bible: 25 cents--This is a gift for Little S. We gave A a Bible for Easter, so I thought this would be neat to give to the baby as well. I'd love to make it a tradition that we always give a Bible or Bible story book to every foster child we have in our home.

Children's books: 25 cents each. The Goldilocks book is an older edition and it is also a pop-up book. It's really cute!

Little S really likes the My Big Animal book. It's full of animal pictures that any young child will love.

Children's craft books: 25 cents each. There are lots of fun things to do for A and I inside these books.

File Folder Games: 25 cents! This has never been used.:) When I see a teaching tool like this and it's super cheap I just have to buy it! The pieces have to be cut out then stored in file folders. It will be a fun way to reinforce what A is learning at school.

Crustacean Multiplication Dominoes: 25 cents. Again, it's another teaching tool for kids and I love it!

Animal Bingo: 25 cents! I really like this one, and so does A. The pieces are durable and there's even a pouch to store them in.

The animal pictures are beautiful and bright!

Duck prints: 50 cents each. I've started a collection of duck items for when I change the decor in one of the bathrooms. It will be the kids' bathroom and it will so cute with these pictures.

Ralph Loren western shirt: 99 cents! I love the look of this shirt--perfect with a pair of jeans.

Sonoma every day t-shirts: 99 cents each. These looked practically brand-new and they will be great for layering during the colder months.

Riders boot cut jeans: 99 cents! They fit great and will look good with any of the shirts shown above.

Billabong purse: 25 cents! The top part of the purse is made out of corduroy and the colors below match the clothing items that I bought on this day, too.

Did you add all that up yet? :) My grand total for this thrift store shopping trip was....

$11.83!!

This was an awesome day full of great finds. It's fun to find unexpected treasures for incredible prices. God is so good to take care of our needs (and wants, too!)

Praises from Vacation Bible School

We had a busy week with Vacation Bible School. Like last year, we had Tim Tutton bring his Video Bus each day and teach the lessons and songs, do fun tricks, and show the videos. Every aspect of the program reinforced the truth of the Gospel. The children knew each day that God loves them and that He sent His only son to die for their sins.

Here are the praises of the week, for which we are thankful to the Lord for:

1. God gave strength each day to Mr. Tutton as he shared God's Word.

2. Two teen boys accepted Christ as their Savior.

3. The Gospel seed was planted in many hearts.

4. We had a high of 25 children on the bus (Wednesday).

5. Along with Q and I, another worker, Pat, came to help with the kids.

6. Lots of cookies were donated from members of the church.

7. Families were impacted for Christ as their children told them about what they heard on the bus.

How was your Vacation Bible School this year? I'd love to hear what God did for you.:)

Strawberry Lemon Trifle

A and I made this easy (and low fat!) dessert for a ladies Bible study last weekend. It comes from Taste of Home's Fast Fixes with Mixes Cookbook. We enjoyed every bit of it, as it was a refreshing treat during this summer heat.

Strawberry Lemon Trifle

4 ounces fat-free cream cheese, softened

1 cup fat-free lemon yogurt

2 cups fat-free milk

1 package (3.4 ounces) instant lemon pudding mix (for a creamier treat, use two boxes and double the milk)

2 teaspoons grated lemon peel

2-1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries, divided

1 tablespoon white grape juice or water

1 prepared angel food cake (10 inches)

In a mixing bowl, beat cream cheese and yogurt. Add the milk, pudding mix and lemon peel; beat until smooth. In a blender, process 1/2 cup strawberries and grape juice until smooth. Tear cake into 1-inch cubes; place a third in a trifle bowl or 3-qt. serving bowl. Top with a third of the pudding mixture and half of the remaining strawberries. Drizzle with half of the strawberry sauce. Repeat. Top with remaining cake and pudding mixture. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours. Yield: 14 servings.

Happy Anniversary, Mom and Dad Johnson!

At the end of our vacation, there was a little surprise for my in-laws. Their 45th wedding anniversary was soon approaching, so Q and his siblings decided to honor them in a special way. Since Abigail and her family were now in Colorado, this was going to be the location of the surprise anniversary bash. She and her family worked hard to decorate, cook a meal and add some unique touches to the evening.

When we walked in with Grandma and Grandpa Johnson, we saw this sign:

Her kids traced their hands and colored in their hand prints. I love all the colors in their sign.:)

This was the kids' table....

The flowers in this centerpiece were so pretty....

This was the adult table....

Abigail put some gorgeous flowers into two vases. The vases showed pictures of everyone in the family.

After a fabulous turkey dinner, it was time for dessert. My in-laws were told to close their eyes for something BIG....

That two-layer cake was quite the surprise for them! One layer had bavarian cream, while the other had raspberries and chocolate. Blackberries adorned the cake beautifully.

This event was so special to them. I'm so glad they enjoyed it. I'm thankful that they have been married for all those years....what a great accomplishment and an example to all of us.