Family Fun Plus One

It has become a tradition to go swimming on Father's Day.  This is not necessarily a tradition born out of my husband's love of swimming.  It is the type of tradition that is born out of the ever-expanding memories of our children that constantly remind us of things with statements that begin like this, "You remember that one time you ______ (fill in the blank). Can we do that again?"

In my old age I must admit I have become somewhat of a "Debbie Downer" or "Negative Nancy" - especially when it comes to swimming in the summer.  Swimming in the winter is somewhat more bearable, in my opinion, because it involves heated indoor pools, warm (not scorching hot) walkways and does not require the use of sunscreen.  Given the unusually cooler temperatures our area has been enjoying this spring I was certain the water would be nowhere near the temperature in which I prefer to fully submerge my body.  That said, out loud.  We journeyed to the local YMCA water-park and embarked on our annual Father's Day swim. 

The water was COLD.  I do not know how our children can splash right in and never blink an eye.  After several minutes of slowly walking across the pool we were finally able to breathe again.  Preacherman was certain hypothermia had began to set in.  We spent some time in the pool (debating if we could leave yet) then moved on to a few rounds in the Lazy River and then back to the main pool.  

Many of you may know that we are in the process of taking some foster parenting classes and hope to add  another child (or two) to our family.  This Father's day outing to the pool gave us an unusual glimpse of what that might look like.  

I was no longer interested in being "in" the pool, so I sat on the edge and watched Rockstar on the lily pads and began tossing some Splash Bombs to Crazy Horse.  Rockstar and Little Princess moved on to the feature area with Preacherman as Crazy Horse and I continued our game of catch.  All of a sudden with no warning a male child, likely near Crazy Horse's age, jumped in the pool between us and entered our game.  Now I was throwing the splash bombs to two children of similar size and age and watching them, with a smile on my face, as I saw for the first time what another child might add to our family.  I was amazed that out of all the people at a pool on a Sunday afternoon that this child had decided to join us.  They were fun to watch as they both called for the ball to be thrown to them and the "fight" to catch the ball that ensued with each toss.  The smiles across their faces, the feigned frustration with each other and the pure enjoyment they were having warmed my heart.

Preacherman soon joined us, as did Little Princess who immediately wanted all the balls tossed to her.  The young boy quickly added Preacherman to the game of toss.  I kept looking around thinking his parents might show up and wonder who we were and why we were playing catch with their son.  No one ever asked.

We don't know this young boy's story.  We do know that we had fun and enjoyed sharing our game with him.  Preacherman asked the boy if he was there with his family.  No.  He was there with his coach.  I'm not sure what the boy's family life is like, but I am happy to know he has a coach who cares enough to spend Father's Day taking him to the pool.

2013 Reading List

Here's to another year of enjoying some of my favorite authors and finding new ones!

1) Simple Secrets - Nancy Mehl
2) Where Yesterday Lives - Karen Kingsbury
3) Shattered - Dani Pettrey
4) When Joy Came to Stay - Karen Kingsbury
5) On Every Side - Karen Kingsbury
6) Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother - Amy Chua
7) Created to be His Help Meet - Debi Pearl (I do not recommend this book)
8) Vanished - Irene Hannon
9) The Longest Ride - Nicholas Sparks
10) Unspoken - Dee Henderson
11) His Mistletoe Family - Ruth Logan Herne
12) Christmas in the Air - Irene Brand/Dana Corbit
13) Bring Me Home for Christmas - Robyn Carr
14) Stranded - Dani Pettrey

2012 Reading List

I enjoyed keeping up with my 2011 Reading List so much that I decided that I would continue it with a 2012 Reading List.  I hope it proves to be as fun and productive as last year's.


1) Indelible - Kristen Heitzmann
2) The Lucado Inspirational Reader - Max Lucado
3) How to Get Organized - Mary Masterson
4) Frugal Kitchen Tips - Mary Gail Stanley
5) The Witness - Dee Henderson
6) Simple Secrets to a Happy Life - Luci Swindoll
7) Fatal Judgment - Irene Hannon
8) True Devotion - Dee Henderson
9) A Fair to Remember - Stacey Joy Netzel
10) Jenna's Cowboy - Sharon Gillenwater (Callahans of Texas #1)
11) Emily's Chance - Sharon Gillenwater (Callahans of Texas #2)
12) Megan's Hero - Sharon Gillenwater (Callahans of Texas #3)
13) A Bend in the Road - Nicholas Sparks
14) Everything Romance
15) The Best of Me - Nicholas Sparks
16) Shades of Blue - Karen Kingsbury
17) Unforgettable - Kristen Heitzmann (Michelli Series #2)
18) Ever After - Karen Kingsbury (sequel to Even Now)
19) Echoes - Kristen Heitzmann (Michelli Series #3)
20) Unlocked - Karen Kingsbury
21) Deadly Pursuit - Irene Hannon
22) True Valor - Dee Henderson
23) Cleaning House - Kay Wills Wyma
24) Full Disclosure - Dee Henderson
25) Submerged - Dani Pettrey
26) True Honor - Dee Henderson
27) True Courage - Dee Henderson
28) Waiting for Morning - Karen Kingsbury
29) Lethal Legacy - Irene Hannon
30) Inescapable - Nancy Mehl
31) The Widow of Saunders Creek - Tracey Bateman
32) Saving Hope: Men of the Texas Rangers Book #1 - Margaret Daley
33) The Breath of Dawn - Kristen Heitzmann

Valentine's Cookies

I was excited that Valentine's Day afforded me a wonderful opportunity to practice my newly acquired cake decorating skills.  I set out to bake and decorate sugar cookies for Crazy Horse and Rockstar's classes.  I was excited at the new venture.  I've baked sugar cookies before but never had the tools or knowledge to decorate them short of some frosting and sprinkles.  There is some real fun to be had while living in a small community where homemade treats are still allowed in school classrooms.  Monday I baked cookies, baked cookies and baked cookies.  I was going to package them for each student, so I wanted a couple cookies for each package.  I had no idea how exhausting it would be to bake so many sugar cookies!  I'm honestly not even sure how many I baked.  I'm guessing a rough estimate of 150.  I needed a dozen or so to take to my MOPS (Mother's of Preschoolers) meeting on Valentine's day and it is impossible to bake cookies around three children and not have to pass a few out to the kiddos in the process.  Monday night after the girls were in bed I began the decorating process.  I gave up around 12:30 a.m. with one large cookie decorated for each child, determined to finish after MOPS and before the classroom parties.  I strongly considered placing 2 unfrosted cookies in each bag with one large decorated cookie.  In the end, I managed to lightly design the remaining cookies for the parties and off Little Princess and I went to deliver the goods.  Each bag contained one large heart and arrow cookie and two other heart shaped cookies.

Happy Valentine's Day!

Cake Decorating Class #4

Tonight was our final cake decorating class for course 1.  We learned a new flower, the ribbon rose.  We also worked on our writing skills.  For tonight's cake I baked a devil's food cake and layered it with a marshmallow cream filling and I topped it with a chocolate buttercream frosting.  It was like one giant, irresistible "Ho-Ho".


I was fairly satisfied with how my new ribbon roses were turning out which inspired me to use one of the designs in the book as my guide for my final cake.  


This one is dedicated to my wonderful husband and my girls who make it all possible.

Cake Class #3

We had lots of fun tonight learning many different flowers and leaves.  Tonight we decorated cupcakes.  I was really pleased with how my flower "baskets" turned out.

This little guy was just for fun:

A Little More Practice

Tonight was my second cake decorating class at Butler Community College in El Dorado.  Tonight we worked on leveling our cakes and smoothing our icing.  We also practiced a few decorating techniques.  Once our icing was smooth (or somewhat close to smooth), we were free to decorate our cakes however we wanted.  Everyone in class did a stellar job.  Below is my second cake creation.  On a January day when the outside temperature reached nearly 60 degrees, this is in no way reflective of the weather outside.

A New Hobby for the New Year

I have always found the art of cake decorating interesting.  Growing up, I watched as my mom decorated many birthday and wedding cakes for friends and family.  This past Christmas I asked my husband for a new hobby kit, a cake decorating caddy.  A good friend of mine thought it would be fun to take a class together.  She located the class details and we enrolled.  Last Tuesday, I attended my first cake decorating class offered at Butler Community College in El Dorado.  The main problem I see with this new hobby is that hubby and I have started 2012 with great momentum in eating better and exercising more. I've yet to see how my new hobby fits into that wonderful plan.  Tonight I baked and decorated my first practice cake.  My inspiration comes from the cake that Rockstar wants for her birthday next Saturday, much similar to the one below only covered in stars. Since we are just weeks away from Valentine's day I found the heart shaped design fitting for my practice run.  Tomorrow is our monthly carry-in lunch at church. I plan to take this to church so that it may be eaten and enjoyed (hopefully) without sabatoging our current goals. While I am certainly looking forward to tasting my creation of white cake with strawberry preserve filling and buttercream frosting, I'm also looking forward to practicing again!

One Less Tooth

This morning while eating corn pops for breakfast, Rockstar discovered that her front bottom tooth was very loose.  It had been loosening for a few days now.  She first discovered it hurting at breakfast on Thursday morning.  I encouraged Rockstar to wiggle it back and forth and reassured her that there was little pain in pulling a tooth as loose as hers. She ran off to the mirror and within moments returned with much excitement as she held her tooth in her hand.  She literally jumped, danced and sang with joy and promised to tell everyone at church tomorrow that she had lost a tooth.

Some Days...

Some days are tiring...
Some days are exhausting...
Some days are overwhelming...


Then you find a long-forgotten book on your bookshelf and you remember:


a simpler day...
a sweeter day...
a special day...


and you take a moment to recreate the memory...

Coffee?

I've never considered myself a coffee drinker.  My mom never made it much when I was growing up, only when there was company around.  I did remember liking it as a kid with milk and sugar.  As an adult, I've just left it be.  However, with the emergence of time I've found that although I may not be a 'real' coffee drinker, there is an  indulgence I enjoy.  On a trip to Missouri one weekend I discovered a Mocha Caramel Cappuccino that I did very much enjoy.  I've stopped at that same location a time or two since and they no longer offer what I crave.  I've had one at McDonald's and I have enjoyed it as well.  However, I cannot wrap my frugal spirit around a $3 coffee on a regular basis.  Therefore, I have created my own.  Since I am not up on the coffee lingo, I did have to do a little research to find out exactly what it is I make.  Honestly, I'm still not sure but I'm calling it a latte.  I have found that if I heat my skim milk and add 3 spoons of the instant suisse mocha and 2 spoons of the instant caramel coffeehouse beverage mixes I have a delightful pick-me-up to enjoy on a regular basis without breaking my budget.  

More chicken, please

Yesterday at noon, preacherman and I tried to figure out something to do for a fun family night with the girls.  Lunch time came and went and we still had no solid plans for the evening.  As the afternoon continued, I remembered a book I had titled, 199 Fun Family Activities.  I began perusing the pages looking for something quick, simple and certain to please.  I landed on Chicken Day.  It was supposed to be a whole day of chicken...eggs for breakfast, chicken nuggets for lunch, chicken for dinner.  Since it was already afternoon, it would not be a Chicken Day, but we'd have a Chicken Night!  I began gathering my supplies...a toddler cd with the Chicken Dance tune, a YouTube video of how to do the chicken dance, a long list of chicken jokes and I borrowed the movie, Chicken Little, from a friend.  I cut up the list of jokes into single jokes, folded them and placed them in a tupperware dish.  I placed the jokes, cd and movie in a gift bag, taped it closed and left it on the table with this note attached:  Inside this bag are the contents for tonight's fun family activities!  Absolutely, NO PEEKING!  Here is your ONE clue:  (below was a picture of a cartoon chicken). When preacherman arrived home I told the excited children and somewhat scared preacherman that I needed to leave home and would be back in about 30 minutes, all I needed them to do was set the table and have ice in the glasses.  I left and went to Dollar General to pick up soda and ice cream pops, then to McDonalds for the 50 piece chicken nugget meal with two orders french fries.  I arrived home to the table set and an uncontrollable amount of excitement.


We all sat at the table and ate our McDonald's meal while telling our chicken jokes.  Crazy Horse pulled her first joke out of the bowl and pulled the one and only chicken joke with a horse in it!  Even little Princess had a joke or two to tell.  We laughed and smiled.  When the jokes were read and dinner was done we headed to the living room computer to watch the next surprise, the video of the chicken dance.  Once we had it down and the video was over, we used the toddler cd of the Chicken dance.  It was loads of chicken fun!  Next up was pj time to get ready for our movie.  Once our pjs were on, we had a devotion time where we acted out the story of David and Goliath (the VeggieTale version) because we all know that David was no CHICKEN!  After our exciting devotion we camped out in the living room to watch Chicken Little, followed by ice cream and bedtime.


It was a night like no other and the best McDonald's meal I've ever eaten!