It's A...

Take a guess! It'll take a real Sherlock Holmes to figure this one out. :) he,he

Family Night

Sunday night, we had a family night of sorts. Well, it was actually a girls night/guys night evening. Jesse and JG watched "Ricky Ticky Tavi" while Ava and I made her first batch of cookies together.

JG loved the short movie and can now tell you exactly how a mongoose kills a cobra snake. Don't worry, this movie is an animated Disney movie, but it was educational too.

Ava enjoyed baking the cookies too. She licked the beaters until they were clean and then promptly stuck them back in the dough bowl to reload!!

Another easy recipe

JG and I made this easy and delicious pudding tonight. Besides tasting great, I like being able to use natural ingredients like organic milk and no artificial sweeteners, flavors, colors etc.

Thick Chocolate Pudding
15 min | 5 min prep

SERVES 4

1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
3 tablespoons cornstarch
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 cups skim milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
In a 2-qt. microwave-safe bowl, combine the first four ingredients.
Stir in milk until smooth.
Microwave, uncovered on high for 3 minutes; stir.
Microwave 4-6 minutes longer or until thickened, stirring after each minute.
Stir in vanilla.
Pour into individual serving dishes; cool.
Refrigerate.
Garnish with whipped topping if desired.

Yummy Dinner

I made this chicken tortilla soup recipe tonight, and I have to say not only was it the best tortilla soup I've ever had, it is probably the best soup I've ever made. Of course, I couldn't make the recipe as originally stated, so here is the Amy-ized version. The original version is found on recipezaar.com. I hope that you'll try it.

Chicken Tortilla Soup

SERVES 8
1 cup carrot, diced
1 cup celery , diced
1 cup onion, diced
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder, diced or 1 fresh garlic clove, diced
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tablespoons corn oil
4 (15 ounce) cans chicken broth
1 (15 ounce) can tomatoes, diced (optional)
1 (10 ounce) can Rotel tomatoes & chilies, diced
1 (1.25-1 1/2 ounce) packet taco seasoning
8 corn tortillas (broken or cut into small pieces)
12 ounces chicken meat, poached, diced
1 cup milk
12 ounces monterey jack cheese or Mexican blend cheese, shredded
corn tortilla chips, broken into small pieces
sliced avocados, to garnish
sour cream, to garnish

1. Saute carrots, onions, celery in corn oil, garlic, salt and pepper until tender (about 10 minutes).
2. Add chicken broth and bring to boil.
3. Add tomatoes, Rotel, taco seasoning, and chicken. (I let this simmer for 1 hour b/cz I had the time).
4. Cut Tortillas into small pieces and add to broth mixture.
5. Let boil for 20 minutes or until tortillas are thoroughly incorporated into soup stirring occasionally to keep from sticking.
6. Reduce heat and add 4-8 oz. cheese. Simmer for additional 10 minutes.
7. Add milk and simmer for additional 10 minutes.
If thicker soup is desired, add more diced tortillas and let incorporate into soup.
Garnish with shredded cheese, broken tortilla chips, avocado, and sour cream

Scripture Snacks Update

On Friday, JG started memorizing his first scripture snack, 1 John 4:19. We recited it at meals and other times during the day and drew a word-picture of it for the fridge. He had the verse down pat in 2 days and even recited it to his Sunday school teacher! So Monday, he begged me to pick another verse and we ended up with Deuteronomy 6:5 "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your strength." I haven't been quite as diligent with this verse so we will probably keep it through next week. Let me know if you are joining us in our "snacks" and I will be sure to email you with any activities I make up to go with the verses.

What happens when...

I take a 5 minute shower and leave to little ones to their own devices...

It all started when the kids both woke up from afternoon naps an hour early. I was just fixing to hop into the shower, so I did what I normally do when I need 5 minutes to myself. I put up the kitchen baby gate, grab a couple of toys for Ava to to play with in the bathroom, call Ava to come play, and hop into the shower. I was just getting all sudsy when JG opens the bathroom door and hollers, "Come on Ava, let's go play!" Joy to a mother's ears... my children want to play together. The 2 go scampering off together and I enjoy a peep free shower. I finish up, turn off the water, grab my towel and listen. Silence.... At first I was relieved, no screaming Ava means she's not being tackled, squashed, "hugged", etc. Then, I hear what sounds like ice cubes hitting the kitchen floor. Can't be ice cubes, can it? I dash down the hall to find the gate on the floor, JG holding down the refrigerator's ice cube dispenser button, and Ava shrieking in delight. Further investigation reveals that the kitchen floor is COVERED in ice cubes and Ava trying to ice skate. All I could do was thank the Lord that the water dispenser broke last week... that would've been a real mess!

Coconut Hut

This morning I was scanning through the radio stations in our den to find some music to dance with Ava to, and I stumbled across a kids christian radio program called Coconut Hut Radio on 90.9. It plays every Saturday morning from 7-11am. Here is the link. I thought is was pretty cool. They had music and games and bible stories/verses. It was kinda like a Christian Disney radio program for both younger and older kids. Anyway, I thought it was worth passing it on.

-Jesse

Scripture Snacks

I have been wanting to work on scripture memory with the kids for at least a year now and haven't done a very good job at getting started. Sure, every night we read Bible stories, pray the Lord prayer, and thank God for something special from that day, but I have been so convicted that without helping them to hide His Word in their heart, a big piece is missing. I was going to try and make a special memory card flip book and got as far as searching for verses online, but never got the verses printed. Last night, at my church's shopping extravaganza of sorts, I bought a cute little box filled with memory verses and we started learning one today! I purchased "Scripture Snacks." If you are interested check out: www.joyfuljars.com Our scripture jar is going to sit in the middle of our kitchen table and we will start out our meals reciting God's Word.

I'm going to try and add a side bar to our blog where I will post our verse of the week. If you want to make your own, you could just copy our verse each week on an index card and put it a file box. Feel free to email me and remind me if I forget! This weeks verse is: 1 John 4:19 "We love because He first loved us."

Happy scripture memorizing!

Trick or Treat

Between pumpkin painting, pumpkin carving, seed roasting, the fall festival, and trick or treating, I think we all had a great time celebrating Halloween. JG was a "mean fire-breathing dragon" and Ava was a loveable princess (as usual). Now, if I can somehow make Thanksgiving just as much fun and have it not revolve are eating!!