Pipe cleaner people

About a month ago, I needed a creative idea to use in our Sunday School program. While looking through my ETC (Evangelizing Today's Child) files, I found a neat project that focuses on reviewing Bible verses.

A and I made pipe cleaner people that hold memory verse cards. This is how hers turned out:

All you need is two pipe cleaners, a dixie cup, tape, crayons, scissors, pen and paper. The pipe cleaners are twisted together to make the arms, legs, and a loop for the head. An adult can help the child make a face or they can do it themselves. This is cut out and taped to the pipe cleaner loop. Cut out a small card and write a favorite Bible verse on it. A few can be done so that they can be changed from time to time. The arms hold onto the card. Twist the body to sit on a dixie cup and reinforce with tape. That's all there is to it!

Because it happened to be Q's birthday on the day we did this, we decided to make one for him, too.

I think the resemblance is striking, don't you think?:)

Besides using these to review Scripture, they can also be used as reminders and sweet notes to the people in your family. Have fun!:)

Snow fluff cookies

As mentioned in my previous post, we got our first big snow of the year. It was really cute to hear A talk about how it was Jesus' birthday and suggest making gingerbread cookies. She immediately associated the winter scene outside with Christmas. I had to explain to her that the holidays weren't for a while yet. She was disappointed as she cannot wait for Christmas.

This snow picture right outside our door was so beautiful and peaceful. Hard to think that it was so much warmer just a couple of days before this happened!

Remember the mobile I told you about? It has a completely different look with the snow in the back ground.

We began a tradition in our house a few years ago that involves the first day of snow. We make cookies and drink hot chocolate. Now with kids, this day is even more fun. I have enjoyed making snowball cookies, but this year I chose to do something different. By looking in a couple of cookbooks, I came across a recipe for snowfluff cookies. Another recipe called them cornflake kisses. No matter what you call them, they are perfect for this special day.

A and I used the recipe in this Mix and Fix Cookbook (published by Parents Magazine years ago). This book has been mine since I was a young girl. Flipping through the pages has brought back memories of making some of these recipes.

Here's the recipe where it's called cornflake kisses:

2 egg whites

2 cups cornflakes

3/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla flavoring

1 cup dry shredded coconut

1. Beat the egg whites until they are stiff.

2. Gradually add the sugar, and keep beating!

3. Gently fold in the other ingredients, just barely mixing everything together.

4. Drop the batter onto a greased cookie sheet, a teaspoonful at a time.

5. Bake in a moderate oven (325 degrees) for 12 minutes.

Makes 30 small kisses.

After lunch, Q and A went sledding for a while. When they returned they were drenched, but had such a good time together. We all sat down to eat snowfluff cookies and drink hot chocolate. This is such a neat tradition for us to continue with the kids.:)

Fall Leaf Mobile

I began this post last night while it was still looking like fall. Snow began falling tonight so tomorrow will look more like winter has arrived. It may not be the case where you live and you can still enjoy the gorgeous colors of autumn for some time.

A and I put together this fun decoration a few weeks ago to celebrate this season. If you have some leaves right outside your door and you'd like to preserve them, this is a great project to use them for.

I found this idea in last month's edition of Family Fun Magazine. After you press your leaves in a large book for a couple of days, place them between two pieces of clear contact paper. Cut around them, leaving a small border. Punch holes, tie a string to each, then hang them from a branch. We found our branch near our garden then taped it to the curtain rod. When the sun shines these leaves really glow. It's amazing!

Take time to enjoy this wondrous season God has given us. He is the Master Painter of the universe!:)

Life as "mom"

Blogging has been on my mind a bit, but not as much as the two precious girls God has entrusted us to take care of right now. Life as their mom has been busy, joyous and even hard at times, but God has given us the grace and strength to get through each day.

So, in the last five weeks that I have not blogged, much has happened. The girls are getting bigger and learning new things. Little S turned one and she is now a running, babbling and "little miss trouble" (probably should spell that with all caps!) thirteen-month old. Our eldest, A, is loving school and her teacher so much. Her enthusiasm for learning is contagious. Q has had another birthday; A and I have done a couple of fun projects, and lots of thoughts have been going through my head that I'd like to share with all of you.

I've also begun singing with the Longmont Chorale again and I've begun a new thing--I joined M.O.P.S. today. I love it! I know it will be a great source of encouragement for me during this time being a mom to two little ones.

As the routine of fall has settled in with a new Kindergartner and adjustments are being made to the higher energy levels of a toddler, I am going to do my best to begin blogging again--beginning with those few things that have happened recently. It may not be every day, or even every week, but I'll still keep plugging along sharing the latest projects, family news and thoughts that God gives me.

I just don't want to lose sight of my priorities which include my time with the Lord and my family and ministry. I love being a help and encouragement to others through this blog, but sometimes things come up, and I have to take a break.

Hope you all are doing well--I'd love to hear from you, so leave me a comment and share what's been new with you.

More things to come soon....

"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!:)