Blogger Friend School #12

                                               

Assignment: Write out some goals that you would like to accomplish. These goals should include your personal goals, but also goals as a family.

While setting goals, try to write out small attainable rewards for each goal accomplished!

Wow, I am a planner, but not that great at implementation.

1. Work at being home as much as possible and making my home a haven of rest for my husband and children (aka the blessings) oh, yeah, our dog too, but she already seems to be quite comfortable and enjoys her 21 hours of sleep a day!


2. Teaching my children to be others oriented over self oriented.


3. Work on my perspective, which means on working on my spiritual condition daily.


4. I could go on a list a lot of things I would like to do and want to do but I would be just planning and nothing more. Being realistic......

 

May the Lord find us faithful.

More on perspective

Now, I was reading the title of my last post and thought I am glad that is already written. Now, I am dealing with other perspective issues, like the temperature of -39 degrees!?!?!? I am very thankful that these temps held off until last night when I was snug in my warm home with a lovely fire burning away in the wood stove. The blessings and I did the grocery shopping yesterday in -25 degree temps (Believe me there is a huge difference between -25 and -39! Come and see for yourself , now I crack myself up. I am no kellieann but I can make myself laugh. Well, I must go take care of a little thing called school and begin cleaning the house. Oh yeah, when it is this cold and I go to start my dryer for the first time of the day, it sounds like a car that doesn't want to start due to cold weather! Just thought you would want to know!

May the Lord find us faithful.

Perspective

Tonight I dipped cherry filling for chocolate covered cherries, peppermint patties, oreo truffles and thin mints. I will share recipes and pictures later.  As I was finishing up and clearing things off the counters blessing #2 came in and asked if she could look at her baby scrapbook. She is very quiet and is probably the only blessing I have that would actually ask before grabbing her book. I said yes and she took the book down and went to look through the book. I ended up sitting down at the table with her. She and I took turns reading the journaling. Boy was my perspective different back then. It has really convicted me. What happened when that third blessing came along? Why do I have such a different perspective, Oh, I love and know that they are all blessings, but would I write those same wonderful, complementary things in current scrapbooks?  I don't even make time to scrapbook any more. What do I fill my spare moments with that doesn't allow time to scrapbook, journaling how wonderful it is to have  these blessings, to list their personality  traits and find the best in them at all times? What a precious thing to read tonight, she will have my words in my handwriting about her, she will be able to see the pictures and read the love I feel for her. I could right now list many negative things about my children (boy we had a "self on the throne" time span this afternoon by two of my blessings, and I do not mean bathroom throne, I mean selfish behavior!). Now, I know what I need to work on this up coming new year...ME! My attitude, my perspective, my relationship with God. I am thankful for that little girl that wanted to look at her scrapbook tonight, I am thankful that I sat down with her to look, it is painful to know that I am the source of my frustration, but it is good to know where to start, where to begin the journey back to 2000, when my perspective was dead on center.

Proverbs 18:10

The name of the Lord is a strong tower, the righteous runneth into it and is safe.

I typed that from memory so if it is not word for word, I apologize. Now, excuse me while I run to a strong tower.

May the Lord find us faithful.

Twelve Blogs of Christmas Contest Post

My favorite parental Christmas memory was last December when we built a gingerbread train. It was just fun, calm and we were home!!

 

May the Lord find us faithful.

We settled on playdough

I found some great playdough recipes but I really prefer cooked playdough. Next time I will take my recipe

which is:

2 cups flour

1 cup salt

2 cups water

2 Tbsp.oil

1 Tbsp. cream of tarter

1 package of kool-aid, unsweetened  (this makes for a good smelling playdough, plus it gives color)

Throw it all in a pot and stir constantly on medium until it looks like gloopy mashed potatoes. Throw it onto the counter to cool and knead. Next time I will just not do the kool-aid thing and add the other ingredients from the website linked to above. Today we made gingerbread, peppermint and sparkling snow doughs.

 

May the Lord find us faithful.

Orange Fudge recipe

 

Here is the orange fudge recipe (One clarification, the batch in the picture  was too orange. I guess I mismeasured the food coloring.) I will try to post a picture of this years batch, if I ever get back to blogging regularly. I think I will once I get good routines established! It is coming along. I have kept my house clean most of this week.

Does anyone know how I could add archives to my side bar? I will research it later, probably after Christmas if I get no replies here. Many thanks in advance.

Now, go make cookies or candy or these stars or homemade gift cards or anything homemade, how about these minibooks, or mini matchbook notebooks. Take a few minutes today to make something with your blessings. If all else fails make some hot chocolate and watch a Christmas movie together.  We have overnight company tonight, two boys, we are going to either make the classic cinnamon applesauce ornaments or peppermint, gingerbread and snow playdoughs. I have not decided yet.

Have a great day.

May the Lord find us faithful.

Just haven't gotten around to blogging lately

It was just one of those weeks and weekends. Not a whole lot going on last week, but I just did not get around to posting anything the rest of the week. The girls and I went to the Nutcracker Ballet on Saturday then we headed home and changed into play clothes and headed to an evening birthday party. It was a busy day and I am glad we don't have those too often. Today we have been home and completed our school time and a little cleaning time. Now the blessings are watching a movie and I am making orange fudge!

May the Lord find us faithful.

Blogger Friend School #11

 

This week's assignment is to list your prayer needs and then to visit classmates and pray for them. The complete list is on the training hearts blog.

My prayer requests are not for me. I need prayer but  my heart is for others this week,my Pastor is down again. He got some sort of flu and is having some symptoms that he had last winter when he began this journey of illness. Please pray  for him. Also, please pray for my little three year old friend I mentioned here earlier in the week. He had to spend last night in the hospital. Pray that if the doctors here cannot treat him that they will take him to pediatric specialists. 

 

May the Lord find us faithful

Today's recipe and a prayer request

Today we are making:

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Balls

(or Buckeye's as some call them)

1 pound butter

1 quart peanut butter (I used one 40 ounce jar)

2 (16 ounce) boxes powdered sugar

Melt butter and add peanut butter. After peanut butter is melted add powdered sugar and stir until mixed well. Cool. Shape into balls. I put them on a cookie sheet and put in fridge. I only pull out small amounts when dipping to keep them cold and firm.

1 large package semi-sweet chocolate

1/4 pound paraffin or a couple TBSP. of shortening

Melt in  a double boiler or in a glass bowl on top of a pan of simmering water. Dip balls in chocolate and place on waxed paper to harden.

We love these. I just remembered I took my glass bowls to church to leave them there. Oh, well, onto plan B and I will have to pick them up for the next few weeks and then take them back! Oops!

I will post pictures when we complete the dipping. The peanut mixture is cooling now. We will dip later this evening.

Prayer Request: a little  three year old at our church was hospitalized today, he has asthma and has been in and out of the hospital many times when he is struggling to breathe, also his mom just had a baby a few weeks ago and is having to go through this as well. Pray for this family please.

 

May the Lord find us faithful.

Losing teeth and a mother's heart

Blessing #2 lost her top tooth on Friday night.

Then, Friday I walked through the house and saw this:

Oh, how it did my heart good. I have longed for the day of useful handicrafts for my girls and I. I loved seeing this.

May the Lord find us faithful.