Random happenings....

Here is Caleb doing handbook time in AWANA with his wonderful leader, Mrs. Scott.
Here is Moriah holding the AWANA flag during flag ceremonies one Wednesday night.
Gideon is off to the left in a red vest.

Here is Lena being the "cook" with Moriah's birthday present. Don't the cookies look good?

Here are my three ball goers after we got home. I had forgotten my camera at home that night. At the ball, they danced the night away doing the Scottish Reel, Patty-Cake Polka and other fun, lively dances.

Here is Gideon doing a nearly perfect cartwheel. He cartwheels everywhere he goes! See my double sink vanity in the background. Someday! Someday! Kev has more mudding to do in the downstairs bathroom and then it's ready to paint and then we can get the toilet and sink in :) Someday!

A tribute...

Here is a dear lady who touched many lives. She passed away this last week and her funeral was today. Family and friends rejoice because she is heaven with a new body and with her Lord. Lena was baby #499 for her to deliver. We were blessed to have her as our midwife. She was so caring and wise. We knew her for only a few hours but she was like family to us. To Becky: may her memory draw others closer to the Lord!

Here is Becky with Bekah and baby Lena!

Happy Birthday Moriah...

Moriah Clara turned 7 today!
She is a photogenic child!

I think she looks so much like Lena here!

The kids all chipped in and got her the Movie Toy Story 3.

We had a tea party for her birthday meal. We got her a tin tea set and cut out cookies for her presents. Also a tea party game that is adorable. I just fell in love with these things on Amazon.com She had fun with them but Lena had a melt down because she wanted them all to herself. I was thinking they would play together with them but Lena has the mind they are all hers! Cute but it didn't last long and Lena was put straight down for a nap!

Little treats that were 1/2 price after Valentine's Day. Perfect tea time treats.

Jello jigglers. We love this jello made with Welches Grape Juice, gelatin and honey.

Chicken luncheon meat sandwiches. Jordan discovered she could add the heart and butterfly shaped cheese to her sandwich.

Italian pizza dip. MMMM! Big stars here. You mix 8 oz. cream cheese with 1/2 cup pizza sauce and put on bottom of pie pan. Then I layered green peppers, onions, fresh mushrooms, and black olives. I put three cheese blend on it and baked it for 18 minutes at 350 degrees. We served it with Ritz crackers. It was great. I got this recipe from a coupon book at Super Bowl time.

We had peppermint tea, taco dip with tortilla chips, noodle salad with peas, pigs in a blanket, spinach dip and carrots, the Italian dip with crackers, cheese, jello, cupcakes and sandwiches. It was a lot of fun to plan and prepare. We used all our best dishes. My mom and sister-in-law Christine came with her baby (she's due April 13th, so not a real baby to hold but it was nice to see her this far along:) Kevin came home from work to join our party and just now left to go back to work. We are off to AWANA.

Need some new recipes...

I found the best website on cooking with real foods using the Nourishing Traditions book as a guideline. I cannot get enough of copying out recipes. Right now I have her Shepherd's Pie cooking on my stove getting ready for the oven. We have made this before but it inspired me because I have the ingredients! It is also made with home made broth (you can use canned if you must :) It smells wonderful. She is called Kelly the Kitchen Kop. She has great links for all kinds of natural living. I love this site! The post today is from Dr. Natasha Campbell-McBride who wrote the book Gut and Psychology Syndrome. We followed that diet for almost 2 years. Another website committed to grain free living and also the Nourishing Traditions diet is Health, Home, and Happiness. I have found numerous recipes here too. Even if you don't desire to go grain-free, you can find nutritious information on meal ideas and even more info on healthful living.

On another topic, Emily and I got a new cleaning job. We worked 6 hours today! I love it. I would honestly rather sit around at home watching movies and eating chocolate but sometimes you have to do what you have to do. It works so well with our school schedule. It's a job that will be ongoing and an answer to my prayers. I have wondered about advertising but not sure I want to. This job was word of mouth from another client (Thanks K.). The home school convention is coming up and so it couldn't have come at a better time. Em loves it too as she can get some money for things she wants and even has a savings! I need to start wearing gloves. My hands are pickled :)

Cleanse...

I have come off my cleanse that I was doing the last 18 days. The first of February I was just going to do a water and lemon juice fast for five days and it turned into 18. I ended up following The Master Cleanse for 15 of those days. Today, I am attempting the ease-out routine but I'm not doing so well. I haven't eaten any food for 18 days and my stomach knows it but my senses don't. My senses tell me how good that roast chicken would taste, it tells me to eat some of that soup even though you are only supposed to drink orange juice today. So, I've "cheated a little". I do it very little here and there but now my stomach feels a little full and crampy. I am going to try to go slower but I know I have NO will power. I was hoping to do the diet 10 more days but feeding the children each day is challenging and most challenging is the lemon taste in my mouth day after day. I felt absolutely great, lots of energy, more energy than usual. Food can really slow you down. I was doing it to detox, lose a little weight and hopefully jump start my eating habits back to a better level. I did lose 20 pounds but I know that as soon as you start eating you gain nearly all of that back. I hope to keep some off by trying to add an exercise routine but that has been a challenge for me in the past.

I researched online about all kinds of people who have done the Master Cleanse and found someone who did it 40 days. I really wanted to but I don't think she has any children. If there wasn't the smell of baking bread most days and other tantalizing things cooking in my kitchen I could easily do 40 days. Again, I am amazed at how much energy I had. It was great to make it as long as I did. I hope I can do it again in the future.

Giveaway...

Enter to win this clay package at Keeper of the Home.

http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2011/02/giveaway-wee-living-clay-package-from-natures-cleansing-clay.html#comments