Favorite things

Just stopping in to say "hello" and show a couple of my children's favorite activities. Hopefully next time I will come and stay awhile. But for now, this is all.

Arrrgh, matey!

A horse and his boy.

Dressing up

He's not so sure about dressing up...

but this one loves it!

My Favorite Cookies

I am running low on things to post for right now, so I am going to share my favorite chocolate chip cookie recipe.  It is a combination of recipes. I just kept substituting ingredients until I came up with one I liked.  Feel free to substitute ingredients as you see fit.  The kids like M&M's instead of chocolate chips.

          1 cup buttered flavor shortening

          1 1/2 cups brown sugar

          2 eggs

          1 tsp. vanilla

          2 1/4 cups ap flour

          1 tsp salt

          1 tsp baking soda

          1 1/2 - 2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips

I generally mix the first 4 ingredients together and then add the dry ingredients.  I add chocolate chips last.

Bake at 375 for 7 minutes.  Take them out of the oven but leave them on the pan for 3 more minutes.  If you choose to take the cookies off the pan immediately, they will be doughy.  If you choose to bake them for 9 minutes, they will be crispier.    

Just an idea of what to do with extra cookie dough over at bakerella.

teachable moments and little helpers

So we have begun a new year and I am still planning out my goals for what I would like to see this year hold for me and my family. Of course I already have a few of the basics lined out on paper, such as get up earlier, lose weight, stick to a schedule, be more organized, etc. - you get the point. Now I am filling in the details and those details seem to hit me right in the face sometimes, making sure that I know that that area of my life needs some improvement. 

So here are two specific goals for this year (and hopefully they will improve with every year):

* more teachable moments with my kids

* encouraging my kids to be helpers

It's funny how when you have one child, you can take all the time in the world to watch a bug. To see where it goes, follow its path, discuss what kind of bug it is, and maybe even make a life lesson out of it. But now with three kids, it seems as though I barely have enough time to keep one kid from slaying the bug with his sword (which I am thankful for when there are spiders around) and keep another kid from picking up the bug and loving it, all while trying to get the smallest kid to even pay attention to it, let alone to try to teach them anything about the bug.

These ages are GREAT for teaching. So I am looking for opportunities to teach my kids and to make daily life activities or chores as we know them - fun! My children beg me sometimes for me to let them help me. Unfortunately, my first response is not always "yes". I know that I can get things done a whole lot faster by doing a job by myself, but what will that prove? Granted, there are times when this needs to be done, but most of the time I would say that the more help the merrier! By allowing them to help, I am creating a sense of accomplishment, providing an opportunity for learning organization, teamwork, and the list goes on, not to mention the family time we spend together while cleaning!

One last attempt...

So I thought I would just post one last blog for the year.  Nothing of importance, I'm just a little on the OCD side of life.  I can't stand to see every month have at least one blog post in it and then December have nothing.  So this will most likely be of no great revelations but it will make me feel better when I look at my own blog. Pathetic - I know.

The past month has been very busy for us, but then again who isn't it busy for?  We had Abraham's first birthday party, but good ol' mom (me -Jena) didn't use the camera.  So no blogging there, unless someone out there has pictures of it?!  I can say, though, that the birthday boy really wasn't up for the party - even his first cake experience didn't win him over.  He was somewhat cranky the whole time.  We found out Monday that he had an ear infection - which explained most of the crankiness.

We also did a lot of travelling for the holidays but again - no camera.  You would think that with my genes there would be a camera attached at my hip.  It sounds like a New Year's resolution - MORE PICTURES! 

With that I will wish you all a Happy New Year! Hopefully next year I will be able to fill in the gaps of my blog - Abe's party, more Proverbs and maybe some fun kid things!

Our Abbi-girl is 3!

On November 14, our Abbi turned 3. She had informed me several weeks before her party that she would like to have a pink and yellow castle cake. She chose the theme and the colors - all I had to do was put it together. The cake was easier said than done. The icing didn't cooperate. But with the help of Gramma and Pappa Judd the cake was finished by 1:00 in the morning. Next time I will use this recipe recommended by Shelly.

I was having a hard time coming up with games, but within a matter of minutes before the party started I thought of these 2 short games. One was "princess, princess, who's got your shoe?" - a spin off of "doggy, doggy, who's got your bone." And the other was a treasure hunt game where we took a box full of the princess's jewels (candy bracelets) and hid them somewhere in the house. Whoever found the jewels was to return them to the King and he would then distribute them among all the people.

I think Abbi had a wonderful time. Thank you to all who could join us. You made this day very special!

gleaning wisdom

A few weeks ago I was at my cousin's birthday party when I heard some great advice. I heard my aunt say that she and her husband "always prayed for wisdom" when their kids where growing up. OK, granted, this is nothing new. I know this and you know this. But when I heard these words this time, they hit me like a ton of bricks! Wisdom - that is exactly what I needed! Why didn't I think of this before. Now don't get me wrong, I've prayed for wisdom before, lots of times. However, this time it was different. I had a clearer understanding of what I was praying for. So the next time I sat down to pray, I didn't just pray "Lord give me wisdom .(dot).(dot).(dot)" moving on to something different but "LORD, GIVE ME WISDOM, understanding, a willing heart, a teachable spirit." Now... I know that wisdom is not going to just "pop" into my brain and I will be a wise person. It is going to take some action on my part. What better place to start than Proverbs. Again, a no-brainer. We've all read it before, several times I'm sure. This time my husband is reading it with me and commentating on it as well (I learn so much better when he reads and shares his insights with me). And this time, though I have read it plenty of times before, it is sinking in deeper. Now no, I am not all-wise and full of understanding. In fact I have a long way to go, but I am enjoying the journey ( I will tell you more about that later). Not only do I have God's Word, prayer, and a godly husband to gain wisdom from, but as I look around, God has surrounded me with quite a few wise people to glean from too.

Thank you Lord for wisdom, for your Word, for wise friends, and for a godly husband.