It's Almost Time

It's almost time for our first day of school!  I'm so excited to get started.  Of course we are starting right away with a wrench in our plans, lol.  We should be starting Monday but I have a MOPS Steering Team meeting so we will be starting Tuesday.
For those of you who are interested, the curriculum I am using is ABC Jesus Loves Me.  This has been such a gem for me that I am so excited to have discovered.  If you are at all interested in starting anything at home with your preschoolers this year I really recommend checking out ABCJLM.  The curriculum follows the bible through bible stories.  It is broken up into four week units and each has at least one bible story to follow.  It also includes math, reading, arts and crafts, fine motor, and gross motor skills each week.  The best part?  It's free!  I'm not kidding, absolutely free!
You can follow my blog to see how we are incorporating it into our life as well as any of these blogs:
Growing up Gabel
Life on the Franco Farm
Proverbial Homemaker
Baby Gator University
His Treasure Seekers

If you have any hesitations at all about doing this at home with your kids believe me you can do it.  You don't have to be a teacher.  The lesson plans are very easy to follow and you can go to any of those blogs to get more ideas.  Plus there is also a facebook page:  ABC Jesus Loves Me Facebook Page, and you can contact Momma C for further questions or support.  She is super nice I have contacted her before.

So I hope I can lead others to this wonderful free Christian preschool program, I promise you won't regret it for a minute.

My newest creation may be one of my favorites!

I made it following this tutorial on The Mother Huddle!
Hair Clip Fascinator Tutorial
I love The Mother Huddle!

Mama? Can we say a prayer?

Last night as I was serving dinner Lillian said, "Mama can we please say a prayer?"
"Of course Lillian."
Then as we were waiting for Sweetness to sit down Kirby started eating and Lillian looked at her and said, "No we cant eat yet we need to say our prayer!!!"
Funny thing is this is pretty much a nightly experience.  My child loves to pray.  Even when out to eat she will very loudly announce Waaaittttt We Haven't Prayed Yet!!!  Can't help but love her to pieces.

An apple a day!

An apple a day keeps the doctor away?  but who would want to keep this adorable doctor away?
Dr. Kirby decided that mommy and Lillie-Kate looked "under the weather."  What did she prescribe?  Applesauce!!
Applesauce tutorial coming soon!

Kirby decided this is a good combination. The last of our homemade yogurt mixed with ramen noodles.

Slaw? eeck Well I'll try a little... Recipe Roundup

Call it being a good example, or open minded, or just not wanting to be rude.  But yes I did it, I tried slaw.

As you may have already guessed, no, I am not a fan of slaw.  There's only one place in my mind for slaw, only one place I've ever liked it, and that is the BBQ Chuck at Chuck-A-Burger in St. Louis, Missouri.  But that didn't come til later.  In fact on the many occasions we found ourselves at Chuck-A-Burger throughout my childhood I don't think I ever tried it, even once.  That was back in the day when my brother and I didn't think twice about walking down there on a Friday night for one of the big car shows dancing to the beats of Sh-Boom.  Sitting on the wall next to St. Charles Rock Road slurping down a milkshake!  Or enjoying a big plate of french toast with the Lang Gang Sunday mornings after church.

But this isn't about Chuck-A-Burger this is about slaw.  The cold, crunchy, tangy, sliminess that I just can't get past.  So what was I to do when at a birthday party for our neighbor Rich last night I was confronted with a big giant bowl of slaw and Phyllis trying to encourage my Kirby to try some. She only wanted to eat a hot dog despite the table practically toppling over with foods.  Yet my plate too, at that point, only had a hot dog.  I told Kirby, "Let's just put a taste of it on your plate and if you like it we can come back and get more."

But she refused.  So in my effort to be a good example and an attempt to not be rude and not try any of the homemade slaw I slopped some on my plate.

Well we sat our plates down, got drinks, waited for everyone to get settled and then it was time.  Time to try it, time to take a bite. Wait, what happened? Is this even possible? Could it be?  I liked it!  I actually liked it!  This was nothing like that cold tangy goo you buy in a tub at the grocery store.  This was delicious! 

Come to find out this slaw was made from broccoli slaw.  I've never even heard of broccoli slaw.  It also had sunflower seeds and ramen noodles.  The dressing was just right and the crunchiness of it was actually good.

Perhaps it the fact that it was fresh and handmade.  Perhaps it was the light and not overpowering amount of dressing or perhaps it was the lack of raw cabbage.  

Who knows but it got me thinking.  I would like to try other homemade slaws.  Do you have a favorite slaw recipe?  If so share it here!  Over the next few weeks, before summer is over, I will try several slaw recipes and next summer at the various summer potlucks we get invited to or host I will bring my favorite ones or just make it a point to make homemade slaw for my family whenever Sweetness fires up the grill.

Little Visits with God

Last night as the twins and I were sharing our nightly devotional from Little Visits with God a flood of memory came back to me.
When my mom gave me this copy published in 1970 and asked if I remember her reading it to me I had to say that I honestly didn't remember.  I do remember doing devotionals but the last devotion book I remembered was Angel in My Attic.
Last night I was very pleasantly surprised.  The devotion was titled, "God Counts our Hairs"  I was about two sentences in when I remembered!  I remembered my mom reading this to me!  I remember how amazed I felt and it was the first time I felt in true awe of God.
As the story goes little Sally is worried about how God could possible take care of her among the many other children in the world.  How can he know where she is and what's happening to her?  Sally's daddy says, "He not only know you; He know how many hairs you have on your head."
As a little girl when my mom was reading this to me I decided I would count the hairs on my own head.  Not for a moment did my mom try to discourage my effort, but after maybe thirty hairs in a very teeny section of my head I realized there was no way.
So how can God do this I reasoned.  The devotion explains that God doesn't have to count each individual hair he just knows how many hairs we have without counting them.  It goes to show that "God knows Everything" means literally God knows everything!!!  I never really grasped the magnitude of this and not only was reading this devotion to my girls a great trip down memory lane but an perfect reminder of his awesomeness.