David's Circuit Board

David is learning about the human body and all it's parts.  He built this cool circuit board that lights up the area of the body that you are looking for.  We have all enjoyed testing our knowledge of the human body!

Happy Birthday Elijah!

Elijah's 8th Birthday!

Elijah had his big birthday party on Saturday

(a big one every other year works good for us).

He invited 11 friends to Spooky's for pizza, cake and video games.

He has such good friends. 

They were all well behaved, thankful

and not one of them touched their pizza until we prayed first. 

I even saw some of them sharing their quarters and video game time with one another.  

It is good to know that Elijah is making good choices when it comes to friends. 

He will need that practice as he grows older and meets more and more people.

I pray that he is also a good friend to others.

Mary was happy girl and then fussed a little bit before she nursed

and conked out then woke up happy again.

She can sleep anywhere, she's use to hustle and bustle!

Elijah was VERY blessed with presents.

Ann and Hannah did good hanging out amongst all the boys. 

We did loose track of them once though!

Paul and I both thought the other had them and we went out to the car to load up and realized

"where are they???" 

A friend went back into Spooky's

and I followed and we found them sitting in the video game room side by side, driving.

It was a cute sight for sure...

but those little stinkers sure pulled one over on us!

This card was hilarious! 

Another hilarious card was one that one of his friends hand made (always the best) and glued a pic of his big ol' head on a little ol' body.  It was very funny!  (I hope it was meant to be!)

One of the little sisters of a set of brothers (our very good family friends) made this card for Elijah. 
It was very sweet and I could tell that Elijah enjoyed it and was even blushing that he got a card from a girl.   (Is he old enough  to be blushing over that?!?!)

TODAY:

He brought bakery sugar cookies and army napkins to school to celebrate with his class today.

We always do a family party at home on the kids' birthdays too.  We decorated the dining room with tablecloths and balloons.  Elijah picked Macaroni and cheese for dinner and we did rootbeer floats for dessert. We finished up the night with a game of Yahtzee that he got from Grandma and Grandpa.  That little lucky guy rolled a Yahtzee his very first roll!!  Elijah always seems to have all the luck!
Happy Birthday my sweet baby boy!  You light up my life and put a smile in my heart and on my face!

Out of the Ordinary Dinner Fun

Friday night I cooked up some Rock Cornish Game Hens.  I had bought them on sale a few weeks ago and froze them for when we needed a little out of the ordinary "pick-me-up". 

  Everyone got their own and yes, we wasted some meat, but it was worth a great experience!

We all took a lesson from Mommy on how to properly carve poultry.  As we ate, we examined the bones, anxiously searching for the wishbone before it got mangled.  (We managed to salvage one, but I accidently threw it away in my hurry to clear the table after an "incident" that I should probably not share on my blog because I do not want to embarrass those involved, including me;)  But ANYWAYS...   It was a great time, we all learned a lot, ate a lot, and laughed a lot... and now when I do it next time, I want to hide a little something extra special in the cavity, maybe like a pickle or lemon or something

or a gold dollar (washed of course) would be really fun!

This hen has no idea what she's in for...

I was a little nervous sitting next to Elijah. 

He thought he was on Iron Chef.

David spent more time carving than eating.

Kid shot. 

I realize now that everything on the plate is beige! 

I served the hens with organic brown rice seasoned with organic "no salt" seasoning (from CostCo, very yummy)

and fresh pears given to us by our neighbor lady. 

I skinned them though because, like everything else in The Dalles area, they had been covered in knats.

Hannah was afraid of hers.

Ann dug right in

(chatting her way through it of course).

We also learned (from Wikipedia):

"A Cornish game hen, also sometimes called a Cornish hen, poussin, Rock Cornish hen, or simply Rock Cornish, is a young chicken sold whole. Despite the name, it is not a game bird, but actually a typical chicken that is slaughtered at a young age and therefore is smaller in size. Though the bird is called a "hen," it can be either male or female.

Most sources credit Alphonsine and Jacques Makowsky of Connecticut for developing the small bird in the mid-1950s. A Saturday Evening Post article from July 1955 credited Mrs. Makowsky with coming up with the idea to breed the Cornish game chicken, a small bird with short legs and a plump, round breast that she had discovered in a book. The Makowskys began cross-breeding the Cornish game cocks with various chickens and game birds, including a White Plymouth Rock hen and a Malayn fighting cock, to develop the Rock Cornish game hen -- a succulent bird with all-white meat. Their intent was similar, to breed a small chicken with mostly white meat suitable for a single serving.
In addition to commanding a higher price, the game hens have a shorter growing span, 28 to 30 days as opposed to 42 or more for regular chicken. Two-thirds of Cornish game hens sold in the United States come from Tyson Foods, Inc.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture describes the Rock Cornish game hen or Cornish game hen as a young immature chicken (usually 5 to 6 weeks of age), weighing not more than 2 pounds ready-to-cook weight, which was prepared from a Cornish chicken or the progeny of a Cornish chicken crossed with another breed of chicken."

Thank You

I wrote this poem to thank our youth leaders after Vacation Bible School and then again after Summer Game Room Ministry.
But really, this goes for all you out there who are ministering to children
be it your own or others or both ;)

Thank You

Thank you for your work
it's done!
You helped the children
have lots of fun!

Children are a reward from above
A priceless gift from God's own love.
In our church we have plenty,
we love that we have so many!

Jesus said "Forbid them not!"
Sometimes it takes all we've got
To teach and train,
To love and lead,
To give them everything they need.

Someday the Lord will look at you
and thank you for the work you do.
Children are precious in His sight
Worth the fight
to teach them what's right.

Thank you for your sacrifice-
Which God knows
you made with all your might-
Your time, your skills, your energy,
Your patience, prayers and humility-

God shines in you so brightly!

Would you believe...

Would you believe....

that last week I got in an bickerment (my word for almost argument) with my husband... over lost binkys

that I turned down the wrong way in a construction zone and had the workers jumping up and down at me before I even noticed

that I so enjoyed my 2 evenings to myself on Monday and Tuesday that I considered what it would be like living single... but just for a moment ;)

that I heard and then saw two SKUNKS on my back porch very late at night on Tuesday and had to will myself not to go out there and give them *heck*

that I fed my 2 and 4 year old a bowl of dry cheerios for lunch because I wanted the kitchen to stay clean for *just a little longer*

that my son built an impressive circuit board at school but when he brought it home to show me, I couldn't figure out how to work it

that when I took a rare trip to Kmart the other day for 2 items, that I came out with a whole buggy full of great "deals" and crabby children (wait till you see all my picture frames! yay!)

that when I got home from Kmart, I was informed that I left my credit card there! (nothing good ever comes from my trips to Kmart- thus the "rareity")

that after using the phone while the little girls were in the bathtub, that I came back to a FLOOD all over the bathroom floor and that they had managed to mush up an entire bar of soap so that they could make blue water

that while at the Corps this week I mistook one of our employees for a transient when I found her sleeping on a pew in the Chapel. I was all geared up for a "how can we help you" counseling session, sat down next to the back of her head and then realized--- oh! it's you!
boy did we have a laugh... well, mostly me... poor thing had a migraine... oops!

that when I took my son to school the other day, I reached to give him a kiss and he had covered the bottom half of his face with vaseline because of 2 chapped lips. I used my hands to clean up his face and my hands were so slippery that I couldn't get the car door open. So then I wiped my hands on my uniform skirt and will now need to take a trip to the cleaners

that on a whim, I decided to move the the TV Stand (with the TV) over and angled about 1 1/2 feet. So I tried with all my might and couldn't... then I recruited the kids to help... then we still couldn't get that thing to budge... then we broke it... then I somewhat fixed it... then we left it alone... then we confessed to Daddy what Mommy made the kids do...

that I actually had all the laundry hampers empty, clothes washed, folded, and put away for a whole 3 hours

Our Ant Farm

We've had so much fun and are learning so much with our Ant Farm, that I thought I'd post about it.

After we sent away for our Ants, they were mailed to us like this. In a test tube crawlin' all over each other. The number one rule we stuck with was - Do Not Touch The Ants-. They were big and red and scary looking.

We put them in this glass for a couple days because we did not get their home ready in time. (Apparently we needed to be ready when they came.) We followed the directions and David, Elijah, Ann, and Hannah made a "home sweet home" for them in no time and we had it out to dry and harden up that night so the Ants could move in the next day.

Those Ants are quite used to giant people heads glaring down at them daily.

I wonder if they think we're God.

Ants exploring their home. They got to work right away. It is so neat to watch.

Isn't thier little red water bowl sooo cuuuuute??

Did you know???

that Ants work and move faster when it's hot? Like lightly blowing our own hot air on them?

that Ants calm way down when you put them in the refridgerator?

that our Ants LOVE to eat Cornflakes?

that Ants need fresh water everyday?

that you should NEVER leave a 2 year old alone in the corner with the Ant farm?

that Ants WORK HARD ALL DAY?

that Ants pile up their dead?

that a family of 7 can be entertained day after day with an Ant Farm?

that you can make a family of 7 jump, run, and scream by saying "I think I saw an Ant on your arm"?

Soccer Season

This is Elijah's 5th year playing Soccer. He loves it and looks forward to all his practices and games. He scored this year by having 2 of his friends on his team. These pics are from his first game, last Sunday. I threw in some of the girls too. They have a blast getting to play with their friends too.

Cheering Section

Ring around the rosy...

The 2 year olds fall down...

Just Because...

My dear hubby bought these for me today...

just because...

Smile... sigh... starry eyes...smile

Women's Ministries Annual Meeting

Some pictures from our Annual Women's Ministries Meeting- Potluck Dinner and Dessert Tea

I really liked putting the tables all together this time. There was a different spirit in the air because we all sat together instead of spread out all over the room. Would you believe by the end of the night we had 25 ladies and 4 littles ones crammed around these tables. It was a wonderful evening and despite all the hard work (we also had Advisory Board that day), I'm grateful to the Lord for making this ministry so enjoyable and personally satifsying to me.

In the middle of the tables.

Table decorations. Simply stated. I think it also reflects where I'm at in my life right now-

the longing of my heart is simplicity.

I also had the Bibles opened up to Psalm 127- "unless the Lord builds the *home* it's builders labor in vain"

I am sooo not a craft person. I just don't like that kind of stuff around my house (or the Corps),

so I try to come up with a functional do-able use-able craft. Read on to find out what we did....

Tea Table.

(I FORGOT to put out the real cream!

I realized that after I cleaned up. I always forget that!

I guess we'll be having cream for Sunday School)

Dessert Table.

Empty table against the wall for all the goodies the ladies would be bringing.

Everyone showed up with their best meals. It was a delicious feast for everyone.

The ladies chose their basket, grabbed some "harvesty" looking fruit, and some whole cloves. You can make any design you want out of the cloves. Some made letters, designs and such.

It smells wonderful in your home and looks lovely on your family table. (This is also an easy "craft" to do with your children.)

We shared in some "getting to know you" games, Scripture, discussion, devotion, poetry and secret sister exchanges.

The other sweet thing was Mary sitting/slouching in a high chair for the first time.

I gave her an apple and she had fun slobbering that thing up!

Space Station

We've been trying to do this for months, but the timing of clear skies and the earth's orbit has to be precise. Below you see the co-ordinates for the night we did it.

We did finally see it!! We all ran off the porch to the middle of the street and saw the very faint light from it. If the sky had been more dark we would've had a better view. It took 5 minutes to move across the sky (or rather, us rotating) and we all waved to the 12 or so people on board.