My Great Aunt passed away Saturday night. She had esophagus cancer and it was expected. Very sad for the family but oh marvelous for her to enter into eternity, pain free and whole again. To be with Jesus. I can't imagine.
When my Grandma went to see her a week or so before her passing they went to hug and Fran said to my Grandma "See you in Heaven" Grandma Shirley responded "Ill be right behind you!" The two of them smiled as those around them cried and they told them "This is a happy thing you guys!"
What a fabulous perspective. I'd love to say that I will respond that way when I am ready to enter into eternity. I do look forward to heaven, greatly. But, I feel like part of me will be sad to be leaving those around me. Maybe its my age, but I should be heavenly focused all the time.
If you think of it will you pray for the family with me? The wake is this Friday and funeral this Saturday.
I am so thankful for Fran, my Grandma, Kevin's Grandma and others we have witnessed anticipating heaven joyfully.
"What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”[b]—
the things God has prepared for those who love him"
1 Corinthians 2:9
So will it be with the resurrection of the dead. The body that is sown is perishable; it is raised imperishable; It is sown in dishonour, it is raised in glory; It is sown in weakness, it is raised in power; It is sown a natural body, it is raised a spiritual body.
If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual body. So it is written: "The first man Adam became a living being"; the last Adam, a life-giving spirit. The spiritual did not come first, but the natural, and after that, the spiritual. The first man was of the dust of the earth, the second man from heaven. As was the earthly man, so are those who are of the earth; and as is the man from heaven, so also are those who are of heaven. And just as we have borne the likeness of the earthly man, so shall we bear the likeness of the man from heaven.
I declare to you brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed - in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality. When the perishable has been clothed with the imperishable, and the mortal with the immortality, then the saying that is written will come true: "Death has been swallowed up in victory."
"Where, O death, is your victory?
Where, O death, is your sting?"
The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Corinthians 15:42-57
"He must become greater; I must become less" Journaling our quest to give thanks and bring HIM the glory in all that we do.
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
School
I haven't been posting as many pictures of school on the blog because I haven't been taking any. I realized I was often slowing up the process or stopping her creativity to say "say cheeeeese" "show Mommy your paper!!"
I will still have ideas, finished products and some pictures but much less than I was posting.
We are on the H unit for one more day. Our verse is Exodus 20:12 "Honor Your Father
and Mother." The other day she proudly recited it for me as "Abhor your Fadder and Mudder." Lol, I laughed pretty hard. Then I had to explain the big difference between Honor and Abhor.
We made an 'H' house and a little 'h' horse (Yes, we realize most houses are not pink and orange and most horses are not green and yellow, but it was the sturdiest paper we had! :-P) We practiced cutting our verse, talking about how to honor your father and mother, practiced writing h's and had fun hopping.
I will still have ideas, finished products and some pictures but much less than I was posting.
We are on the H unit for one more day. Our verse is Exodus 20:12 "Honor Your Father
and Mother." The other day she proudly recited it for me as "Abhor your Fadder and Mudder." Lol, I laughed pretty hard. Then I had to explain the big difference between Honor and Abhor.
We made an 'H' house and a little 'h' horse (Yes, we realize most houses are not pink and orange and most horses are not green and yellow, but it was the sturdiest paper we had! :-P) We practiced cutting our verse, talking about how to honor your father and mother, practiced writing h's and had fun hopping.
Favorite new snack
We are huge popcorn lovers over here. One of our favorite new ways to eat popcorn is thanks to my friend Johanna.
We start by making homemade kettle corn
Pour oil into your pan. Put two kernels in and when the oil is hot enough you will hear your kernels pop and then add in 2/3 cup of your kernels and 2/3 cup of sugar. Shake the entire time popcorn is cooking so as not to let the sugar burn or clump together.
Right after your kettle corn has finished popping pour into a bowl and immediately top with salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and chili powder. Yum!!
We start by making homemade kettle corn
Pour oil into your pan. Put two kernels in and when the oil is hot enough you will hear your kernels pop and then add in 2/3 cup of your kernels and 2/3 cup of sugar. Shake the entire time popcorn is cooking so as not to let the sugar burn or clump together.
Right after your kettle corn has finished popping pour into a bowl and immediately top with salt, cinnamon, cardamom, and chili powder. Yum!!
Orange Chicken
Ever since we cut gluten out of my husband and daughters diets, we have greatly missed Chinese food. Most soy sauce has wheat in it and other things, like orange chicken and egg rolls are also deep fried and wheat filled. Last week I scoured the internet and found this fabulous gluten free, baked orange chicken recipe. I modified it a bit and it was a HUGE hit!
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2" cubes (I used cage free)
1/2 cup flour (or organic rice flour to be GF)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice (I squeezed two fresh oranges in)
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce (I used gf garlic soy sauce)
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons green onion (didn't have any so I omitted this)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water
Heat oven to 350. In a shallow dish combine the flour, garlic powder and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in flour mixture and coat evenly.
Melt butter and pour into a shallow baking dish, large enough to accommodate chicken in a single layer. Arrange chicken in pan and bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan combine water, fresh orange juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, orange zest and whisk over medium heat for a few minutes. Then stir in brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and green onion.
After chicken has baked the 30 minutes, turn each piece over and pour 1/2 sauce mixture evenly over chicken. Bake another 30 to 40 minutes basting frequently.
Serve chicken over rice with extra sauce on the side.
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 2" cubes (I used cage free)
1/2 cup flour (or organic rice flour to be GF)
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons butter
1 1/2 cups water
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons fresh orange juice (I squeezed two fresh oranges in)
1/3 cup rice vinegar
2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce (I used gf garlic soy sauce)
1 tablespoon orange zest
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon finely minced ginger
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons green onion (didn't have any so I omitted this)
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/4 cup water
Heat oven to 350. In a shallow dish combine the flour, garlic powder and pepper. Dip each piece of chicken in flour mixture and coat evenly.
Melt butter and pour into a shallow baking dish, large enough to accommodate chicken in a single layer. Arrange chicken in pan and bake uncovered for 30 minutes at 350 degrees.
Meanwhile, in a medium saucepan combine water, fresh orange juice, rice vinegar, soy sauce, orange zest and whisk over medium heat for a few minutes. Then stir in brown sugar, ginger, garlic, and green onion.
After chicken has baked the 30 minutes, turn each piece over and pour 1/2 sauce mixture evenly over chicken. Bake another 30 to 40 minutes basting frequently.
Serve chicken over rice with extra sauce on the side.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Boys Vs. Girls
I had to laugh. Liam begged to wear one of big sis's princess dresses this week. So I let him. And posted pics to facebook. Yeah. Some people didn't like the sight of that(<3 Dad!). Yes, I know, we need some boys costumes. Later that afternoon I pulled a ton of our manly toys out and put them all together to make up for it. (cars, GI Joes, Legos etc.) This was the result that cracked me up.
Bedtime routines
What helps your little's go to bed? For us it has ALWAYS been consistency and schedules. We used to do baths EVERY.SINGLE.NIGHT. And for our oldest that worked wonderfully. Its a bit much for our two dry kiddos nowadays. But we still do basically the same thing. Dinner, bath or jammies, Quiet play in their room, bible story/book time, (sometimes guitars worship time with daddy) prayer and bed. We read "Jesus Loves you Most of All" by Noel Piper a lot when Sophia was little and so she still yells "But Jesus loves us most of all!!!" most nights when I am walking out saying "Mommy loves you, and daddy loves you..."
We changed their room around this week and put her bed near the window. I really like it and window crayons which allow her to look at her favorite bedtime verse nightly. It says "I lay down and sleep in peace, Lord, only you keep me safe."
I love to hear the sweet sayings, verses, or routines friends have with their kiddos. So, whats yours?
Its almost Valentines Day!
Its been a pretty laid back week over here. We have played our hearts out, gone to the Library, worked on Valentines day crafts, reorganized the kids room, and reviewed letters and verses. I caught the kids reading together in Sophie's bed several times and it was way too cute to pass up a picture(I know, I know, I never pass up any picture opportunities....)
We also made some fake snow for the kiddos to play in by cutting open a diaper and then pulling out all the stuffing. I asked Soph how much water she thought the snow would hold and after her original answer of "Ummmm a lot??" She guesstimated 4 cups. It held a bit more than that ( I didn't really know when to count that it had stopped soaking in. :-)) Idea for the diaper snow and heart valentines found here.
We had a bit of a "If you give a cat a cupcake" theme since Sophie has been really into the "If you" books and I found these cute printables for some additional fun. We made some grape scented playdoh and used it to make "cupcakes" in some cute spring looking cupcake liners we had and put candles in them. All of us had birthdays this week!
Saturday, February 5, 2011
My Birthday
The big 28 is coming up.
How dorky is this:: I want a laminator for my birthday. Lol. My good friend Marie would probably tell me to plug my nose while I say it.
Oh how things change.....:-)
How dorky is this:: I want a laminator for my birthday. Lol. My good friend Marie would probably tell me to plug my nose while I say it.
Oh how things change.....:-)
Friday, February 4, 2011
Verse Review Video
We have had three weeks of verses so I decided to do a review so she doesn't forget past weeks. Here she is saying her hidden verses up until now.
Valentines day Crafts
I planned on starting all of our valentines day crafts, cards, and decorations next week but couldn't wait. (Whats new...)
We made a cute kissing bird valentine for someone we love (shhhh don't tell, you never know who its for! :-))
We also made our love vase. I found these printouts here. The hearts each have love qualities on them from 1 Corinthians 13. We put ours in a heart shaped vase and on green pipe cleaners. It gave us a really good chance to talk about what love is and what love is not. Sweet girl asked me "If I am doing something sinful or unloving then we can come look at these again Mom and I can work on hiding them in my heart!!" So sweet.
Those heart shaped erasers are also coming in handy for love/valentine days activities. Here we worked on counting them!
I have lots more ideas packed away for next week- will make another post then. I am thinking of just talking about biblical love and having fun all next week and postponing the next RRSP unit until the following week.
We made a cute kissing bird valentine for someone we love (shhhh don't tell, you never know who its for! :-))
We also made our love vase. I found these printouts here. The hearts each have love qualities on them from 1 Corinthians 13. We put ours in a heart shaped vase and on green pipe cleaners. It gave us a really good chance to talk about what love is and what love is not. Sweet girl asked me "If I am doing something sinful or unloving then we can come look at these again Mom and I can work on hiding them in my heart!!" So sweet.
Those heart shaped erasers are also coming in handy for love/valentine days activities. Here we worked on counting them!
I have lots more ideas packed away for next week- will make another post then. I am thinking of just talking about biblical love and having fun all next week and postponing the next RRSP unit until the following week.
Exodus 20:15
We started working on our 'T' unit this week. Our verse was exodus 20:15 "Thou shall not steal" and we also talked about tigers, trains, and turtles.
We started by painting the trains that we received in our gift bags from our friend Maiya's birthday party! Sophia started asking the minute we got home from the party to paint them and its been a long two weeks until we actually did! I knew the T unit was coming up and so we held off for a few weeks. Anticipation for school stuff is good! :-) So of course this was the first thing on our agenda the minute I mentioned it was 'T' week!
She really enjoyed learning about the verse and learning what not stealing really meant. In our "ABC Bible Verse" Book we read about a little girl stealing flowers from a neighbor. Soph was convinced that she had NEVER stolen anything in her life. We had to really go into depth about what stealing was. She has since given a few toys back to her brother with wide eyes saying "I just stole this Mommy!" Its pretty neat to watch when your kids start really hiding Gods' word in their hearts and applying it to their daily life.
I found the pack of heart erasers at Target dollar spot and they have come in handy from counting turtles to sorting by size/shape/color.
Her scissor work is improving when cutting her verse out but it is still a source of frustration for her. Need to include more activities to help her improve and gain confidence in this area. Any suggestions on activities that will help?
Resources found at::
target="_blank">
We started by painting the trains that we received in our gift bags from our friend Maiya's birthday party! Sophia started asking the minute we got home from the party to paint them and its been a long two weeks until we actually did! I knew the T unit was coming up and so we held off for a few weeks. Anticipation for school stuff is good! :-) So of course this was the first thing on our agenda the minute I mentioned it was 'T' week!
She really enjoyed learning about the verse and learning what not stealing really meant. In our "ABC Bible Verse" Book we read about a little girl stealing flowers from a neighbor. Soph was convinced that she had NEVER stolen anything in her life. We had to really go into depth about what stealing was. She has since given a few toys back to her brother with wide eyes saying "I just stole this Mommy!" Its pretty neat to watch when your kids start really hiding Gods' word in their hearts and applying it to their daily life.
I found the pack of heart erasers at Target dollar spot and they have come in handy from counting turtles to sorting by size/shape/color.
Her scissor work is improving when cutting her verse out but it is still a source of frustration for her. Need to include more activities to help her improve and gain confidence in this area. Any suggestions on activities that will help?
Resources found at::
target="_blank">
L Unit Wrap Up!
We sorted ladybugs by size, practiced writing L's on our chalkboard with q-tips and water, used our L playdoh mat, hunted for big and little L's, and had lots and lots of fun! :-)
Tuesday, February 1, 2011
Best Chocolate Chip Cookie bars known to Man
No, seriously. They are the best chocolate chip cookie bars ever.And Im not just talking gluten free. In a very gluten filled world, these would take a prize! I got the recipe from another blogger and she has both the vegan and gluten free recipes on there. I used the gluten free version and turned them into bars. I'm the only one who has tried them so far but I'm sure my family will chow them down once they are up from nap and home from work. (If I don't before that)
If you and your family eat a gluten free diet, you know that baked goods are hard to come by. They are mostly dry, metallic tasting, gritty and gross! Give these a try, I'm guessing you have missed a good cookie!
http://silkiecook.blogspot.com/2010/03/vegan-double-chocolate-chip-cookie-with.html
(Oh and the only thing I omitted was the cocoa powder- I just forgot it! :-))
If you and your family eat a gluten free diet, you know that baked goods are hard to come by. They are mostly dry, metallic tasting, gritty and gross! Give these a try, I'm guessing you have missed a good cookie!
http://silkiecook.blogspot.com/2010/03/vegan-double-chocolate-chip-cookie-with.html
(Oh and the only thing I omitted was the cocoa powder- I just forgot it! :-))
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