Six Years Old...Finally

Kate has been "five-and-a-half" for about 3 years now or so it would seem. Finally, she's turned six. The day before her birthday she stopped everyone in her path at church and announced her upcoming number change.

We'd already pre-celebrated Kate's and Cole's upcoming birthdays with their Pappa whose birthday falls just ahead of Kate's, the Saturday before which only served to fan the flames of Kate's anticipation.

The night before Kate's big day, her daddy and I set the birthday scene...

...the birthday plate...

...birthday "curtain" (as per request of the Birthday Girl)...

...birthday presents...

...birthday streamers...

Then it was off to bed to await the big day and the awakening of the Birthday Girl...

Bring on the...

 ...birthday breakfast...

...birthday blow out...

...birthday bummer...

(Molly's response when we refused to sing "Happy Birthday" to her too!)

...birthday buddies.

Then it was on to lunch at McDonald's,

 lunch choice of 9 out of 10 six-year-olds across the nation.

 After lunch we drove the "birthday-mobile" to...

...good ole Chuck E. Cheese's

where a Kate can be a Kate...

...and where Kate scored a happenin' birthday crown studded with game tokens.  

After divvying up the tokens...

...Kate and her birthday buds played...

 ...and played...

...and played...

...and played...

...and played some more...

...and more...

...and lots more.

Molly and I tried to play games that netted us the most tickets...

Meg and Cole discovered that the "Deal or No Deal" game could, if played properly, provide a wealth of tickets.

After nearly two hours of playing and ticket collecting, we herded our gang to the ticket counter. Kate had big dreams about what shiny new doo-dadd she would purchase with her 54 tickets and spent no less than 15 minutes making her selection...

..."fangs" she calls them.  

Just what every fresh six-year-old needs!

Deciding that we'd eeked out every drip of fun that Chuck E. Cheese had to offer, we travelled onward to the next stop on our birthday tour so that Kate could spend the first of her birthday gift cards!

(tune in next time for the next great adventure!!!)

My Wish for You This Weekend...

"...for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content."

~Philippians 4:11

Just a Quick Hello

Hi! I'm not gone from blogging, really I'm not. It's been 9 days since my last post and I've got some fun posts knocking around in my head about where I've been and what I've been doing over the last week and a half. I can't post them now because...

1. I'm weary from my adventures.
2. I'm actively using what I've learned on my adventures and can't stop for fear that I'll forget exactly what I've learned.
3. I'm having a bit of anxiety because my sister posted her experiences over the weekend before I did and now, I'm certain my post will not be as good. {Read Sudeana's ...here}
4. I'm in utter denial that my adventures are over and that I've entered my real life once more.
5. Because I've entered real life, I've not had a chance to load my pictures on to the computer.
6. I'm also in utter denial about the amount of laundry that accumulated while I was adventuring.
7. I've gotten a little sore throat which qualified me for a nice dose of Nyquil.
8. I took the Nyquil about  1 5 minnnnnuitessssssssssssss agoooo.
9. Can't sEEm 2 mmmmmemmmmber wht i wuz   gooonnnnnnaaa writ bouuuuuttttt...
10. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Sippin' at Sam's

Hi! Molly Joy here. All dressed up and ready to roll.

Where am I going? 

Well, here's the situation...we are out of milk.  Dad thaith it's almost time to buy a cow becauth we go through tho much milk these days.  That makth my Mom grin a little, she loves feeding all of uth.  Being out of milk isn't such a big deal exthept that we're out of bread too and I think I heard someone thay we were out of just about anything that could serve as lunch.  Thith makes my Mom grin a little too becauth being out of lunch food usually means we go out to eat for lunch and Mom really enjoys that.  So...

that's where I'm going...out to lunch. Wanna come?

I really like the place where we are going. There aren't any tables large enough to seat our whole family, tho I alwayth get to thit at the table with the big kidth. It'th so fun.  I get to chooth between the pizza and the hot dog special.  I chooth the pizza today.  The only thing that stinkth is that thith place only hath one size drink and that size ith tooooo big fo me! Everybody elth gets their own drink, but I have to share with my Mom or Dad and thath kinda hard from the big kidth table.

It was a really thpecial day today cauth we got to get dessert! Mom and Dad haven't been eating much dessert at all lately and today, they decided to live a little with thoft therve from Tham's Club! (Megan hath taught me allllll about alliteration you know!)  I love the dessert here but by the time we get around to eating it, it's time to get into the shopping cart and race around the store before Dad'th lunch hour ith over. Really, thith part is pretty fun too.  First, we load everyone'th drink into the cart (nobody wants to see all that thoda pop at 88 cenths a piece go to waste) 

...and then in goeth Kate and then me.  

Look at uth chowin down the ith cream! It had strawberrieth in it! Thooooo good. My mom had such a hard time eating and taking pictures of uth...but she soldiered through! 

Ya know what else ith fun when we go shopping at Tham's and other places? Watching all the people looking at us.  I'd look too! I mean really, who pushes THAT many drinks around in a buggy? I don't really think its the drinks they are looking at.  Mom saith they are counting us kids.  She gets a kick out of it too.  She saith that the people looking at us must think that we are a grade school on a field trip to Tham's Club for cheap soda pop and hotdogs.  

I guess when you stop to think about it, that'th kinda what we are!

After we've loaded the buggy with boxes and bags that are mostly the size of ME, I decide to stand up and demand politely requetht that I be permitted to walk about the store for awhile.  Finally, I convinced Dad to let me down. It wath about time too, cause I had a bit of shopping to conquer as well. I saw this patio furniture while I wath eating and couldn't wait to give it a whirl.

The cushion was good and firm that table lookths like it would hold a dinner plate or six. 

Hang on a thecond! That sign doesn't say that it's been stain guarded and Mom saith that is a deal breaker. Did you see the price on it? That'th almost enough to buy....mmmhmmm carry the 4....1,965 drinkths here at Tham's. I'm pretty thure Mom and Dad will think that'th a deal breaker TOO!

Anywayth, thanks for comin' to our gourmet lunch wif us!

Hope to thee ya again real thoon!

To Brighten Your Weekend...

It was a Friday night and we needed a flower for a hat. Well, not exactly a hat. It was a hat card that Meg was making that caused us to be in need of the flower.  Our craft supplies were limited at best, but we did have a few pipe-cleaners.

After a Google search on how to make pipe-cleaner flowers, Meg was rewarded with an excellent instruction video from YouTube and I was rewarded both with the knowledge communicated in the video and a big time chuckle.

 I thought I'd share the fun...(please don't miss the co-star of the video... and... watch all the way 'til the end.)



Looks like the Ring Lady has a  Molly too! What a hoot!

We decided that the possibilities afforded us with our new knowledge far exceeded the pipe-cleaners we had in our possession, so after a quick load-all-four-kids-in-the-van-at-seven-thirty-on-a-Friday-night trip to the craft store, we came home with a few bags full of pipe-cleaners for a dollar per bag.

Meg was a quick study and produced the flower for the hat card...

...and a ring for her finger.

(Meg is in what I like to call her "Orange Phase")

After the children were all tucked in, I may have been drawn in by all the pretty colors of pipe-cleaners strewn about my desk...

See the pretty butterfly? 

Gobs of fun for a dollar I'm tellin' ya!

Happy Weekend!!

A Day Without Daddy

My man isn't in town today. Molly thinks he's somewhere in Lake Michigan...

There were reports of Daddy sightings near Columbus, OH earlier in the day.

By lunchtime the trail had gone cold.

While Molly worked on the Case of the Missing Daddy, Kate helped with the prep for another "Daddy's Gone Dinner".

I found this recipe online a few weeks ago, and filed it away until today when Daddy would actually be gone! It looked so interesting, so different, so internationally appealing.

Look at all of those ingredients...tomato puree, olive oil, onion, garlic, butter, cumin, and the star of the show, sweet potato.  Then there was the ingredient that answers the question to the old Sesame Street game, "One of These Things is NOT like the Others...." peanut butter.

 We began as instructed...

...we added helping hands...

...and we made soup.

Though it looked like this when we were finished, 

...we approached it with open minds and eager spoons.

However...

Meg: "I really WANT to like it Mom, but I just can't quite get there."

Cole: "Mom, I don't think I can finish my bowl. It's just too different."

Molly: "Yuck, I don't yike it. Ewwwww."

Kate: Kate blew this joint a bit before dinner and was dining "out".  

I thought it had an interesting flavor and finished my whole bowl. It appeared that if I ever wanted to eat this soup again, I would be needing only a table for one. 

As my Dad says, "You win some, you lose some!"

Happily, we made some rolls to go with our soup and so we weathered our "Daddy's Gone and thank goodness we didn't try to feed him this meal Dinner" on multiple pieces of bread...

...and a little bowl of popcorn.

After enjoying a movie, it was time for bed. Since Molly still hadn't successfully located her Daddy,  I took this picture of the kids to send to him to wish him good night.  Just after the picture was taken, we all bowed our heads to say our bedtime prayers. One child asked God to help them to listen better, one child asked for a deeper knowledge of God, another asked for good rest and for safety for Daddy's travels...

...then it was Molly's turn.

"Molly," I prompted, "say 'Thank you God for today.'"

"Fank you Gawd for today."

"Say 'Please help me to sleep good.'"

"Pleath help me sweep good."

"And," I continued, "please help me to be nice to everyone tomorrow..."

"Naaawwwww," she responded. 

I waited and waited but it appeared that she was certain that asking for God's help being nice the next day was just not something for which she could sincerely pray.  The bed began shaking violently as squeeks and guffaws escaped from the very children Molly wasn't going to be nice to the next day so I said, "Molly say 'Amen.'"

"Anem Anem!"

EnTITLED

This weekend my family took part in an activity that we wouldn't have had the opportunity to except that my Man is a pastor. This weekend my Man was a pastor with a title-less sermon. Around here, the titles of sermons are either things of beauty or targets of ridicule (usually by me and maybe one or two others =-). In my humble opinion, when I am asked for my creative input, sermon titles are things of beauty and when my Man decides to go it alone...targets of ridicule.  I love, learn from, and look forward to my Man's sermons. I'm a fan and a loyal one at that, I just think sermon titles are maybe-kinda-almost not on the top of the list of things at which this minister of mine excels.

Last week's sermon title was good enough, "Off with the Old, On with the New," and dealt with sinful aspects of life that we must forsake to live the life of a Christ-follower. I thought it should have been called (in hindsight) "What NOT to Wear." Catchy huh?

The sermon for this Sunday was taken from Colossians 3:12-17 and included the apostle Paul's instructions to Christians about what characteristics we are to appropriate in our lives. Colossians 3:12 says, "Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience..."

Imagine my happiness when I received a text message in the middle of last week that said, "Need help with a sermon title." I don't get these requests as often as I feel that I should, so I called my Man and said, "What part of Corinthians are we in this week?"

"Colossians," said he probably thinking where we've been for the past few months! Where have you been wifey??

"Oh right, Colossians, what's the sermon about?" (Like I said, I'm a fan.) After bringing me up to speed on the major points of Sunday's sermon, he asked for a title.

"Give me a bit, I'll have something for you," I promised.  Then I began to prepare dinner and only thought of one measly suggestion after which I gave the matter absolutely no consideration!  A few days later, as he was preparing to go to the gym my pastor Man said, "What was that title you had the other day? I can't quite remember it." (Already, my title had not succeeded if it was forgettable only a day or so later!!!)

"Dressing for a Blessing," I said with mild irritation at my obviously forgettable title idea.  My Man wasn't in love with it either and suggested,

"How about 'What a Christian Should Wear'?"

"Hang on, I was just put to sleep," I teased, "what was that again?"

"OK, I'm going with 'What to Wear'."

"Better," I said, "but not wonderful. Go workout, I'll have something for you when you get back." As the car pulled out of the driveway, I texted reinforcements.

My sister Becky (remember her?) is always quick with a quip so I enlisted her help.

I texted, "Need some quick witted help...." and explained what we were after.  As Becky's mental wheels began spinning, I called my Mom who was at that time en route to my other sister's home in South Carolina to lend a hand with sick children and ailing adults.  "Hmmmmmm," said my Mom loving the challenge.  Soon title suggestions began rolling in...

"How Do I Look?"

"Rags to Riches"

"NOT another Hand-Me-Down"

"Extreme Makeover: Soul Edition"

"Dressed for Success"

"Dress for Your Best"

"Say YES to the Dress!"

"The Clothes You Leave Behind"

"What Are You Going to Wear?"

"Dressed to Bless"

"One Size Really DOES Fit All"

It took my sister only a few minutes to come up with some of those fun titles. It took my Mom only a few short miles and seven calls (each call she said would be the last =-) back to me to think up some of the others.  The "winning title" ended up coming from my Mom's final call which she made to assure me she wasn't texting while driving which I had accused her of doing. 

She called me to tell me that she had, in fact, pulled "way off of the road to send you that text." Just before we ended our conversation she said "How about...

and sooooooo.....

Here she is

Winner and current Title-Holder...

...the pastor's Mother-in-Law, 

who, upon receiving the news of her victory, said that she was 

"just so happy to have been nominated!!"

AND,

if, for ANY reason, the pastor's Mother-in-Law is unable to fulfill her duties as Miss Sermon Title...

...the pastor's Sister-in-Law will assume the title of Miss Sermon Title.

{Just for kicks, the sermon can be listened to by clicking>> Whose Name is On Your Label?}

Cabbage? Are You Kiddin' Me?

Everyone has that one dish that they take to a grieving family or to the dinner that follows the funeral.  One relative of mine is famous for breaking out the Texas Sheet Cake for such occasions, my Grandma always took sweet beans, my other Grandmother took green beans with ham and bacon in them.

I often arrive with cabbage casserole.

Now if you like cooked cabbage, this is the meal for you. If cooked cabbage isn't your cup of tea, you still may want to give this a try because it is wonderful and the cabbage is so "dolled up" that some folks don't even realize that cabbage is an ingredient! In fact, the last time I made this dish for a funeral dinner folks asked me for the recipe for "that noodle dish you brought".

Over the weekend I had the privilege of cooking this recipe for my Grandma and the rest of my family. Among my gang, loyalty to cabbage casserole runs along the boy/girl divide. The girls love it, the men and boys...well you know my Man, and my son and my father seem to be on his team for this one. It was  a good thing we had some detractors however, because us gals plowed through that 9 x 13 casserole in just 2 sittings.  Grandma really liked it and missed out on the second serving, so I made more the next day for lunch. It's kind of addictive and you'll understand why in a moment.

I first tasted this cabbage casserole at a pot luck dinner at our church "in the South".  The pastor's wife and I had never tasted anything like it before, so she hunted down the dish's owner, snagged the recipe, and shared it with me. I've been taking it to funeral dinners ever since.

Here's what you'll need...(recipe follows AS WELL AS a link to the printable recipe :-)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and then remove the outer layer of the cabbage's leaves and rinse the cabbage.  Next, cut the cabbage into 1 inch squares

and place in the bottom of a sprayed casserole dish.

Place enough cabbage into the dish so that it's about an inch to an inch and a half deep. This usually takes about half of the cabbage.

Chop 2 tablespoons of onion (more if you like) and sprinkle it over the cabbage.

Drizzle 1/2 of the melted butter over the cabbage and onions,

add salt and pepper.

In a small bowl combine 1 can of cream of mushroom soup with one cup of mayonnaise. 

(What's not to love??)

Spread this mixture over the cabbage.

I've found that adding the mixture in dollops evenly spread over the top and then smoothing the dollops all together works well.

Crush one sleeve of Ritz-like crackers and pour in a small bowl.

To that bowl add one cup of sharp cheddar cheese...

...and the other 1/2 stick of the melted butter.

Stir to combine and, 

you guessed it, sprinkle evenly over the cabbage et al.

Bake for 30 minutes for a "crisp-ish" bite to the cabbage, or 45 minutes for a more tender taste.

In addition to the divine smell in your house while this bakes, and the awesome taste of all that butter and  cabbage, you will find that it is super easy to just go ahead and make two casseroles while your at it. You'll probably want one dish to come home to when you return from the funeral dinner!

Cabbage Casserole
(Click here for printable recipe)

~Recipe~

1/2 of a medium to large cabbage chopped into one inch pieces

1/2 medium onion chopped

1 stick of margarine (divided)

salt & pepper to taste

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1 cup mayonnaise

1 sleeve Ritz-like crackers (crumbled)

1 cup sharp cheddar cheese (grated)