Halloween Outreach

"So, mom, if we are not dressing up for Halloween, why is Daniel wearing that?"
"What are you talking about, he hasn't taken this outfit off in a week, this is Daniel NORMAL."
Byron says he looks like the people he saw in West Virginia a few summers ago at youth camp.

Ally took part in a really great Halloween outreach put on by the 5th & 6th graders in our church. It was a powerful event and Daniel was their biggest fan - on the front row for all 8 performances!

Ally was part of the dance team and she had the opportunity to talk to a lot of people about Jesus. She helped 3 people pray and accept Christ into their hearts and witnessed to many, many others! The outreach took place on a CRAZY busy street (over 700 people estimated).

They used dance, drama, puppets, and testimonies to reach the crowd. Today was Ally's spiritual birthday - what an ideal way to celebrate it!

We didn't end up with much candy, but we really had a great time! This will be the 1st time in MANY Halloweens that we won't be waking up to a yard covered with toilet paper, forks, saran wrap, and all kinds of other Leland fun! We won't miss the mess, but we sure do miss the messers!

Review: Rattlesnake Rules

"Animals learn rules by living

They have no books or schools

Please pay attention to this story

For even rattlesnakes have rules"

Five Star Publications: Rattlesnake Rules

by Conrad J. Storad

Price: $12.88

Put out by: Five Star Publications

Ages: 4 to 9

We just finished a reptile unit, so this book fit in well with our studies this fall. Daniel loved the pictures, and we all liked the rattlesnake girl with a ribbon on her head. The book has a neat concept, talking about the rules rattlesnakes follow, and the rules people should follow as well. I think it really is a good approach to get kids to understand and respect reptiles and why they do what they do.

The older kids really liked all the fun facts in the back of the book, too. This part of the book contains rattlesnake mysteries, vocabulary, and a curriculum guide, but our favorite section was- rattlesnake myths vs. facts. We thought we really knew a lot about snakes, but we really learned some things from this section. For example, I've always thought rattlesnakes always rattled before striking, but they don't.

We highly recommend this book -it got us to talking about some of the rules other animals follow as well. It would be a great addition to a reptile unit.

The link below will take you to a website for the book, which includes a neat kid stuff tab with a coloring page and a short video about how the artist drew the pictures for the book.

http://www.fivestarpublications.com/rattlesnake/index.html

*This is a Mama Buzz review. The product was provided by: Five Star Publications

Lovely Hat

Daniel doesn't take off the coonskin cap. I went to check on him about 10:30 last night and he was sleeping in it. There's just something nasty about wearing an animal skin on your head. It used to have parents, and fleas, and no telling what else. Nasty...and the dog thinks we have adopted a squirrel.

The Blue Umbrella!

The Blue Umbrella: A Novel

We were so excited when we got the chance to review The Blue Umbrella, by Mike Mason this week. Ally and I both really enjoyed reading this book! Ally devoured all 425 pages in no time! She listed it in her all time top five, which is really saying something since she has read most of the books for this age group in the library. What she loved was the unpredictable-ness and originality of this book. I liked the depth of it -I can see the potential for some great literature study. I would say partly because of it's length, and some scary elements that the book is best for 9 and up.

The book isn't exactly an allegory, but it certainly has some deep spiritual elements, (good ones) and you can see a definite faith connection. In a world saturated with dark spiritual influences aimed at our kids, this book was so refreshing and wonderful! It has the feel of the Series of Unfortunate Events books but without the depressing feel they have. Although the circumstances described are bad, there is a hope and a goodness about the Blue Umbrella. My favorite quote from the book kind of hints at the depth this book develops, hints at the allegorical feel of the book,

"For the first time in his life, he noticed three distinct aspects of a window. First there were reflections on the surface of the glass. Then there was what you could see through the glass, inside. Finally there was the glass itself, an object in is own right, transparent yet substantial. It occurred to Zac that he was about to pass through this barrier from the outside to inside - from the outer world of mere reflections to the inner world where things were real. It was, for him, a strange thought."

We loved it! It was fun to read, not just for kids, grownups will love this book too. The book is published by David C. Cook and is available for $14.99

Enjoy a free excerpt of this book at Mike Mason's website.

The Blue Umbrella, by Mike Mason from David C. Cook on Vimeo.

*Special thanks to Mama Buzz and David C. Cook for providing a copy of this book for the purposes of this review.

Kid Friendly Eating - Mac 'n' Cheese Soup

I love broccoli and cheese soup, so this cheesey soup is one of my favorites. My ultimate comfort food -great fall food - and best of all my kids love it! Super fast and easy, too!

Mac and Cheese Soup

1 pkg (14 oz) deluxe mac and cheese dinner mix
9 cups water
1 cup broccoli florets
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 can condensed cheddar cheese soup, undiluted
2 1/2 cups milk
1 cup chopped fully cooked ham

Set aside cheese sauce packet from mac and cheese mix. In a large saucepan, bring 8 cups water to a boil. Add macaroni; cook for 8 -10 min. or until tender.
Meanwhile, in another saucepan, bring 1 cup of water to a boil. Add broccoli and onion; cook for 3 minutes. Stir in soup, milk, ham and contents of cheese sauce packet; heat through. Drain macaroni and broccoli; stir into soup.

The weather in my neck of the woods:
Rainy and Muddy!

One of my simple pleasures:
Surprisingly enough - lately it's been cooking! Can you believe that? Somebody get my mom up off the floor.

On my bedside table:
1. The Curse of the Spiderking by Wayne Thomas Batson - I am reading it for an upcoming review. It's a kids book -I love kid's books - loving this one so far.
2. Byron's Hank the Cowdog books he is reading to the kids with excellent voices.

On my TV:
Hopefully nothing, I waste too much time that way. But, Byron will be flipping between Fox News and Football.

On the menu for tonight:
A really great Mac and Cheese Soup - it was SO good and the kids loved it.

On my To Do List: Bathrooms - Tuesday's tubs and toilets day!

New Recipe I tried last week:
I made bread without the breadmaker -used my kitchenaid mixer to knead it - the recipe was just a plain one from the mixer book, but it was SO easy and it made 2 pretty large loaves. We never seem to have enough bread around here lately. I think I will start making it once a week.

In the craft basket: A really great red shaw I am crocheting with really thick homespun yarn. It oughta be a gift, but I want it for me!

Looking forward to: Having a fire in the fireplace, snugglin' and reading to the kids, these are my favorite cooler weather pastimes. We cut 1/2 cord of wood at my parent's this weekend - we are ready.

Homemaking Tip for this week: Don't have an inside dog. They stink, they chew, and come in with muddy footprints!

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other): My favorite craft blogs are all Halloweeny. I hate that, haven't been reading them.

Favorite photo from last week: none. It burned up in the fire. See post from Saturday.

Lesson learned the past few days:
As Byron says, "It's all gonna burn up in the fire anyway." My camera burnt, but it could've been worst.

On my Prayer List:
Byron's mom's surgery on Wednesday
FBC Leland Students and loved ones
Fiji
Wes, Jessica and Shalom

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses: "I am carrying on a great work and cannot go down." Nehemiah 6:3. See link to great message from Sunday.
http://antiochcc.ccbchurch.com/app/w_page.php?id=42&type=section&PHPSESSID=25a0380b2d75b2a2658fb889b18d85ac
Okay, it doesn't appear to be on there, yet - but it should be in a few days. The Holy Spirit series is on there and it was really incredible, too.

Yae -Pictures!

Byron brought me his work camera! Yae! Maybe that'll hold me off buyin' a new one 'till Christmas!
Okay, I know you are wondering about the strange, small picture. That's me. I'm wearing Byron's thick boots w/ steel toes, have half a box of kleenex stuffed into my glove, knee pads, helmet, the works. Ally's pitching coach suspects she is throwing at about 50 mph, and HARD! Byron thought it was hilarious seeing me all decked out, but I've taken some pretty hard hits! She is doing some fancy pitches all over the place and I have a hard time keeping up. Plus, I pretty well stink at catching. I'm sure Jenny Finch's mother went through these things also.

Gracie's cookies -our Monday night dessert special! Missing several stolen ones:)

Here's my beautiful bag! I just love it. I bought 1/2 a yard of quilted fabric for $4.50 (with a 50% off coupon at JoAnne's). No pattern. We basically just studied my old bag and figured it out. It closes with a little pearl button from my grandmother's stash, and some velvet cording we found.

I rounded off the corners a bit much, but I still love it. I love the pattern, and for $4.50, I just might go make a few more.

No Pictures :(

Well, sadly this will be a post without pictures. We spent the weekend at my parent's house. My dad is recovering nicely, but he isn't supposed to do much. We burned brush, cut firewood, Byron put in 2 ceiling fans, and I helped my mom with some re-arranging. They are still kind of getting settled into my grandmother's house.
Then, it happened. I was taking pictures (as always) and a kid didn't make it all the way to the burn pile with a limb. And so I picked it up and tossed it up onto the burning pile -and my camera slipped out of my hand and into the fire - with the small case it was in! I am so sad! I just felt sick! Our hiking pictures were on there!
Two things I am grateful for - first, I have almost all my pictures on Picassa. Second, I had just taken all my extra memory cards out of that case! I can't believe I lost that camera! I'm going to be lost without it. It had my huge 700 picture memory card in it, too.
So, I can't show you pictures of the wonderful Vera Bradley knock-off hipster my mom and I created today! It turned out really nice! My poor old Vera Bradley I have had several years looks pretty frayed and shabby, but it is the perfect purse! I have eyed new ones several times, but I just can't bring myself to spend $60 on a purse! I got some fabric for $4 and just made my own! I love it. I'll post a picture of it as soon as I can. :(

Cold Cures

I have a terrible cold and couldn't sleep at all last night. So, I FINALLY took the totally weird advice of Mrs. Kim and Lisa. I put Vick's Sav on my feet, put on some fluffy socks, and I was asleep in minutes. Why does that work? That definitely makes my top ten weirdest things I have ever done list. I am comforted by the fact that an actual medical doctor gave that piece of advice to Lisa. But, it worked and that is all that matters! I keep seeing these things about eating a bite of raw onion, snorting cayenne pepper up your nose, and that kind of thing. I'm not that desperate. I don't put anything up my nose, except the occasional finger. Byron tells me to use nasal spray when I get sick, but I just can't bring myself to do that. I guess you can stop worrying about me becoming a cocaine addict. For the most part, I refuse to take medicine of any kind. Any sinus or allergy medicines make me feel loopy, and I just don't have time for that.
We are having a very good school week, despite my cold and the rain. The kids are planning history projects. Ally told Daniel that he should be Daniel Boone, so he could carry a gun and wear a coon skin cap. He was all over that! Ally read a book about him, and I'm gonna let him check out some old Daniel Boone movies at the library.

My 3 most challenging students barking at squirrels on the power line, or maybe they are all trying to escape from school.

Gracie's latest creation -basket cupcakes - we love our Monday night desserts!

7 Weeks 'till Christmas

Can you believe Christmas will be here before you know it? Ally is on top of things as usual, with her crafted gifts moving along sweetly, but I am a bit behind. My favorite site for Christmas everything is the organized Christmas site. See the link below and check out the great printables tab - I love that stuff! I love gift mixes in a quart mason jar -and all the other little cutesie ideas they have on this site.
I have that box full of old candles my grandmother was saving, and next week we are going to chop them up and make a big batch of homemade candles. We use crayons to color the wax, and we'll be making a big batch of red cinnamon candles, my favorite. Byron always requests a batch of vanilla candles with coffee beans in them.

Here's the Link:
http://christmas.organizedhome.com/

Recipes from Make-Ahead Day

Well, after the flour dust has cleared, make-ahead day was really worth it! (See 3-4 posts back for details). It is so great to sit back this weekend and have meals for at least a week already done, and some good snacks and lunches stored up too!

Several people asked about our PBJ sandwiches. Really good quality wheat bread is the best. White bread just gets nasty. It is soggy, or hard, or both. It takes them very little time to thaw, too, the kids like them thawed, but still a little cold.

The verdict is still out on the Vanilla Coffee Creamer. Here's the recipe:


3/4 c. non-dairy creamer


3/4 c. powdered sugar


1/2 tsp. real vanilla extract


I didn't use real vanilla extract, and it was kinda clumpy. It tasted great, but it takes longer to dissolve. I am not a coffee drinker and Byron leaves the house at 4:30am, so I haven't had the best feedback from him. I'm gonna try the recipe again with real vanilla. Let me know what you think. It certainly is cheaper than the creamer I buy normally.

Here's our great waffle recipe: I haven't frozen them, I just make a double batch and keep it in the fridge for quick fixin'. A normal batch (recipe below) makes about 7 big, thick waffles.

1 c. whole wheat flour

1 c. all purpose flour

1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. cinnamon, if desired

1 2/3 cups milk

1/3 cup melted butter

2 large eggs

Combine dry ingredients, then liquid.

The original recipe called for 2 cups all purpose flour and I've been trying to work toward using much more wheat flour, substituting where I can. I have learned you can't just substitute all purpose for wheat in equal parts, half and half seems to work better and the waffles have a better texture, too.

Okay, Ally's muffins are kind of neat, it is just a simple old basic muffin mix and you can mix in whatever you want to them. We love putting in cheese and a bit of garlic salt, this time Ally put a bit of jam in the middle of them (it oozed out a bit and made a mess). I like dicing an apple into the batter and adding some nutmeg and 2T. sugar. We made them plain once because we couldn't think of anything to put in them and they were barfy.

2 C. sifted flour

1 T. baking powder

1/2 t. salt

3 T. sugar

1 egg, beaten

1 C. milk

3 T. oil or melted shortening

450 degrees, 20-25 minutes

Wish I knew how to put these in another link like the good bloggers do!

Anyway, my favorite company recipe, Mexican Manicotti. I love this because it is a make ahead recipe, so I make it for company the night before and then I can clean house before they get here! I always make a double batch because I sit in front of the TV and stuff the shells and why not make a double batch?

1 lb. gr. beef

2 1/2 tsp. Chili powder

1 pkg. (8oz) manicotti shells

1 jar (16 oz.) picante sauce

1 c. shredded Mexi-blend cheese

1 can (16 oz) refried beans

1 1/2 tsp. dried oregano

2 1/2 c. water

2 c. sour cream

optional - 1/4 c. sliced green onions, &/or sliced olives

Combine beef, beans, spices and spoon into shells in a 13x9 baking dish. Pour water and picante sauce over it. Cover and refrigerate over night. This is when I freeze it, the next day after it has had a chance to mix together and soften the shells. It freezes nicely.

Next, remove from refrigerator and let it thaw. Cover and bake at 350 degrees for one hour. Uncover, spoon sour cream over the top. Sprinkle with cheese and the onions and olives if you want those. Bake 5-10 minutes longer, or until the cheese is melted.

Here's a neat link to some minute rice recipes I thought were neat - love that stuff! I made King Ranch chicken with brown rice and froze it.

http://www.minuterice.com/Images/library/classicminutesubstitutes.pdf

Blessings to all,

T

Living Under the Blessings

I had to rush off this afternoon and visit my Dad in the hospital today. Now, anyone who knows my Dad knows that is the last place you'd ever expect to hear of my dad being! You hear sometimes about people in their 2nd childhood? After 48 years of marriage, my parents are in like their 50th childhood. There was the sailboat childhood, the motorcycle one, the travel the world one, the 1000 US places to visit childhood. There's been so many I've lost count! These are people who took off without notice this summer to Canada for a month cause somebody told them it was cool there in Sunday school one morning. So, my dad took a break from contemplatin' how to build a zip-line in his pasture to have a stint put in his heart.
So, I had the opportunity to pronounce a blessing over HIM, instead of the other way around. My dad is always blessing me, I'm his favorite after all. My whole life he and my mom pronounced the "Blessings of Abraham" over me everyday. This is probably one of the reasons why I turned out so well. Here is the blessing they spoke over me (okay, I guess they said it over my brother and sister too):

You are the head and not the tail, above and not beneath, blessed in the basket, blessed in the store, blessed coming in and blessed going out. You are a disciple taught of the Lord, and great shall be your peace and undisturbed composure. No weapon formed against you shall prosper, and every tongue that rises up against you in judgment shall be condemned.There shall be no evil to fall upon you, nor any plague come near your dwelling, for He shall give His angels charge over you to bear you up lest you stumble and fall.You shall find favor with God and with men, and the Lord will bless everything you put your hands to do.The Word of the Lord shall not return void, but it shall accomplish what God pleases and shall prosper in the thing He sent it to do.-Amen

It is a very powerful thing to pronounce blessings over a child, out loud before them and before Satan. When you do this you are making it known to both of them that this child is God's property. These blessings are found mostly in the book of Deuteronomy, but many of them are from other chapters of the Bible. Blessing our children is something we don't do much in our culture, yet it is very biblical.
I'll never forget when I was in the 7th grade, my parent's blessing would make me late for the bus. The whole bus would have to wait while my parents drinking coffee on the porch in their bathrobes said my blessing. When I complained, my parents started acting out the blessing, I can't really explain how they did this, miming how angels would bear you up, weapons would not prosper; very theatrical, and REALLY embarrassing to a 13 year old. Needless to say I started getting up earlier so we could get the blessing over with before the bus came.

Anyway, all went well with my dad, he should recover quickly, and I am so thankful for him - and for him teaching me to live under the covering of the blessings.

Art Class Resources

In our art class Thursday we are learning about Van Gogh and doing some neat versions of his most famous paintings. Here is a great site to learn a lot about Van Gogh. And if you missed our class, you can try to make your own versions of a Van Gogh painting

http://www.metmuseum.org/explore/van_gogh/index.html

This is a great site with games, art projects step by step, and some neat activities for budding artists.

http://www.alifetimeofcolor.com/

MORE GREAT PROJECTS:
Two projects we are working on are detailed at the links below. These are two things I really wanted to do in our Thursday night art class, but mess, time, and expense with that many kids prevented it:

The first is a salt dough leaf print. Daniel mixed up the dough yesterday, and we are going to paint them tomorrow. The recipe is very simple and this link walks you through step by step.

http://thatartistwoman.blogspot.com/2009/09/salt-dough-leaf-prints.html

Here's what ours are looking like today. We took them out of the oven and outlined the leaf with a brown Sharpie so we could see where to paint.

Our other project (we'll tackle this next week) is making paper bag pumpkins. This link has all the details.

http://thatartistwoman.blogspot.com/2008/09/how-to-make-paper-bag-pumpkin.html
I'll post again tomorrow with a few recipes from our make-ahead day.

Make-Ahead Day Update

I think I'll join the dog and hide behind the curtain for a nap! Help! It looks like a flour bomb went off EVERYWHERE and the kids have abandoned me. We are about 1/2 way through our list of food projects, but the mess is pretty extreme. The kids are whiny and I think they have reached their limit, but "I am pressing on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." Actually, no, I am pressing on toward the goal to win the prize of two weeks of easy meal preparation.

Muffins are done and prepared for the freezer, along with an extra loaf of bread and a casserole. I believe Daniel mixed up enough hot chocolate mix for 2 long winters, AND we found a recipe for Vanilla Creamer (Byron's favorite)and we mixed up a big batch of that. I'll share the recipe if it passes the Byron test tomorrow.

Here's Daniel hard at work making sandwiches. We have one of those Pampered Chef press and seals and we make some into uncrustables for the kids and Byron likes to take PBJ for his lunch, too. He just takes one out of the freezer when he leaves in the morning and they are ready to eat by lunch. This doesn't work with white bread, by the way, the bread gets soggy.

Well, here I go back at it! I THINK this is a good idea, but it should only be tackled with a lot of caffeine and a cleaning lady would be great!

Works for me Wednesday - Kid Chores

My kids are really working this Wednesday! They were feeling kinda whiny on Tuesday after Monday's flu shots, but they are going to go into high gear for a Fall Work Wednesday! Our school day will be just the basics as we tackle some major cooking & cleaning tasks.

They all have their general areas of expertise, which I believe is the way to go with kid chores! Every now and then we switch things up to prevent boredom, but they know their tasks well and I encourage them to teach each other. Ally is our resident laundry expert (I'm not allowed to fold shirts anymore because I don't fold right). She folds and puts away laundry while listening to books on CD. 8 year old Gracie's domain is the kitchen, she cleans and she cooks. Daniel is our gopher boy. At 6 he handles trash, silverware, switches laundry from the washer to the dryer, and carries it to Ally for folding, and assists as needed. I'm careful to oversee Gracie and Daniel most of the time - but Ally, at almost 12, can be fully trusted to handle her chores without my help. I love to pair them up and have them train and teach each other - they both learn more that way!

Here's the do list for our Wednesday cook-ahead -not a major list, but just enough to make meals much more pleasant for the next couple of weeks!

Daniel:

• making 1 whole loaf of bread into PBJ sandwiches to freeze for quick lunches
• mixing and kneading a large batch of salt dough for some upcoming craft projects
• mixing a large batch of hot chocolate mix
• he'll also be making lunch since the rest of us will be too busy - grill cheese is his favorite

Gracie:

Gracie will be my assistant for the 4 meals we will cook-ahead for the weeks to come

• Mexican Manicotti
• King Ranch Chicken
• Cheesy Noodle Casserole
• Sweet and Sour Chicken

Ally:

• A double batch of soft Pretzels and Bread
• A double batch of muffins
• Rice Krispie Treats
• Healthy oatmeal cookies

We have been making a large batch of chocolate chip waffles every week for breakfast and they have been so good! We are using whole wheat flour and we eat them without syrup, so they are relatively healthy, and the kids LOVE them.

Draw and Write Through History

Last year handwriting was right up there with dental work and brussel sprouts on our fun list, but we are LOVING it this year since we are combining writing and drawing! When Mamabuzz gave us the chance to review CPR Publishing's Draw and Write Through History Creation through Jonah by Carylee Gressman, we jumped at the chance! You can purchase the book for $12.00 on the website below.

Here is the website with all the details: http://drawandwrite.com/index.html

You can see a sample art lesson at this link: http://drawandwrite.com/learning.html

Here are some pictures of our best work with this book:


We really loved this book! It is really neat to have history, Bible, and even a lot of fun science facts mixed in there in the copywork. The kids really like the idea of putting together a book with their copywork and drawings - really a nice end of the year product (and keepsake) to show off! As an art teacher I loved the drawing lessons, not just step by step drawings, but also shading, perspective and it can all be as advanced or as simple as you want it to be. The subjects are challenging, but the step by step instructions make them simple. It makes such good sense to combine handwriting and drawing, as they are both about developing fine motor skills and attention to detail. The kids actually look forward to handwriting - that is such as drastic change from when I had them doing boring worksheets and I had to beg and bribe!

We can't wait to try Draw and Write Book 3: The Vikings and the Middle Ages next! There are currently 5 books in this series, with more to come! (See details on the website).

This is a Mama Buzz review. The product was provided by CPR Publishing.

Fair Entries

We entered a few things in the county fair. Gracie didn't know I entered her flower painting. She was actually working on a horse drawing to enter, but it wasn't finished to her satisfaction so she decided not to enter anything. I hated for her not to be included, so I grabbed a resent painting and she was very surprised to see it hanging at the fair! She even got honorable mention!

Daniel got 2nd place in the Lego building competition! We were all really surprised since he was competing against 1st - 5th graders!

Ally's quilt got 3rd place! She had to compete against kids up to 8th grade, so she didn't expect to place, either. She has learned so many amazing things this year in her sewing class - she is already planning her comeback next year. (Ms. Competitive - she so gets that from her Daddy).

We walked a mile to the park and back for recess today. We had the intention of flying a kite, but the wind was whipping around in all kinds of crazy directions, so our kite wouldn't fly. But, we did find some really great wildflowers!

The kite flying will just have to wait for another day. Kites are one of those kinds of things that you get what you pay for, we need a better kite.We had fun playing in our favorite tree climbing park, though! It has such great trees, and we had a picnic.

The dog hates these outings. As Head of Ranch security (just like Hank) she has a hard time keeping control of everything - all the time. She would really prefer if everyone just stayed at home where she could keep us all safe...

...or if everyone could just stay where she could guard them from the comfort of air conditioning, that would be nice.

Midweek Homeschooling Pick-Me-Up

Daniel LOVES to race! Any time, any where, any way. Is that a boy thing or what? But, when it comes to school work - Speedy Gonzalez he is not. I just discovered http://www.online-stopwatch.com/ . On this site you can select a bomb counter. You can set the time, and he can see really big on the computer screen a fuse slowly burning...and when time is up, it explodes and flashes on the screen! Wow! He is impressed, he is moving through his schoolwork - and life is good!

Queen of Cupcakes

Gracie is taking a class about decorating cakes, cupcakes, and cookies. She made these hamburger cupcakes today and they were wonderful! The meat is a chocolate cupcake and she used yellow and red icing for cheese and tomatoes, the lettuce is green coconut. They looked so nice and having the icing on the inside made them easier, and neater to eat!

This is a clown cupcake cake she made. She is getting very good at using different decorator tips. She's a pro. Anyone want to place an order? The whole family looks forward to Monday nights because we know she will have a special dessert for us!

All the kids are kind of interested in cooking lately, so I have decided that each child should have a special meal that they can prepare on their own for the family. Gracie's current best meal is Cowboy Stew. Daniel can make grill cheese, his favorite food, and Tuesday night Ally will try her hand at making her favorite meal -chicken and dumplings. We found the recipe the Cracker Barrel uses, so we will see how that turns out!