delightful

Rachel finished her birthday celebrating today! We had four friends from school over for a party: Isabelle, Naomi, Ariel, and Micah. (Yes, one of her friends has the same name as her brother!) The giggles were contagious. Rachel chose winter as her birthday theme and although we had mostly mush outside due to melting snow, we served up a variety of snow-themed activities. Here are a few to share!

The girls began by drawing winter pictures...although Isabelle, resident artist, had her own ideas and drew a horse instead.

THEN...

The girls made snowmen...out of marshmallows, M&Ms, pretzels, and frosting.

Snowball fight! Pieces of crumpled up wrapping paper make great snowballs.

Snowman cake...for the grand finale! "Oh, he's so cute!"

Have I mentioned how much I enjoyed hearing them giggle?

opportunity

The movie Fireproof will be shown at Calvary Baptist Church on Sunday, Feb. 8 at 6:00 p.m.
Call 452-4470 for more information.

things I never thought I'd say...or hear

"Josiah, stop licking the cat."

"Umm...taste good!"

happy birthday indeed!

Rachel is happily anticipating the celebration of her eighth birthday on Tuesday, and we celebrated with a family party today. There were several family members battling illness on both sides whose presence we missed greatly. Still, a nice day was had by those who could attend!

A new sleeping bag! Micah and Rachel are planning to "camp out" in the family room tonight.

Rachel has been saving her money to buy an American Girl doll, with the agreement that mom and dad would match whatever she could earn toward her doll. She has been busy cleaning bathrooms, vaccuuming the steps, and cleaning the kitchen sink, among other jobs to earn extra money. She had almost enough, and we decided to kick in the rest toward the doll for her birthday. She knew it was coming, but did not expect to get it today!! The smile on her face lit up the room when she opened her doll and she was surprised after all.

Rachel and Kit...the best of friends.

Rather than a birthday cake, Rachel wanted ice cream sandwiches for dessert. It is rather difficult to stick candles in an ice cream sandwich, but we managed a few!

things are fishy

We were cleaning up supper dishes last night when Micah glanced at our fish tank. "What is in there? Hey, Mom, Dad, we have baby fish!!!" Coca Cola and Orange Crush are the proud parents of 17 baby ginger ales...oh, I mean fish. We now have them separated from their parents. We don't want any fish cannibalism taking place.

Eric and I can't stop laughing...baby fish. Kind of like puppies but on a smaller scale. And, like puppies, we are finding homes for them. Four already went home with Aaron and Amy to be loved and cared for by their family.

little boy

Josiah found his pockets when dressed for church on Sunday. He proceeded to fill them up with several toys which we removed before he could lose them all in the nursery.

Grandma Rhodes made all the kids a cape for Christmas. Micah thinks it is great fun to dress his little brother up like Frodo, and Josiah seems to agree. Everyone knows the most accomplished swordsmen owe it all to their blankie.

gotta love granola

It's a snowy day out there! A good day to stay inside where it is warm and do some cooking. This is a great recipe for granola. It was intended for babies over age 1 (due to the honey) but Eric and I love it, too.

Baby Soft Granola
3 c. raw oatmeal
1 c. wheat germ
1/2 c. flaked coconut
1/3 c. dry milk, nonfat
1 T. white sugar
1/4 c. canola oil
1/3 c. honey
1 tsp. almond extract
1/3 c. golden raisins (or any dried fruit; Sun-Maid makes dried fruit bits mix which includes raisins, dried apricots, dried cherries, etc. that I can't wait to try in it)

Mix all dry ingredients. Mix oil, honey, and extract in saute pan and warm on the stove until it reaches a good pouring consistency. Pour liquid over dry ingredients and stir until well covered. Spread thinly on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 225 degrees for 1 hour. Stir every 15 min. When cool, add raisins. Store in airtight container. Eat like cereal with milk poured on top.

celebrating, part 2

Micah celebrated his 10th birthday with a party at Four Seasons. It seemed like a logical place to take a group of 9 and 10 year old boys (and cousins just a tad younger.) Shooting hoops and swimming were followed by pizza, cake, and presents. Eric and I were left feeling very thankful for Micah's group of friends. Each and every boy was polite, well-behaved, and very aware of how their mothers might feel about what they were eating and drinking. He has chosen wisely!