Potato Head Quiet Book

While I was exploring the internet for different ideas for quiet books, I came across a felt Mr Potato Head called My Spud Bud advertised on Etsy.  It looked super cute and I thought to myself... "I can do that!"  Most of Olivia's and Alle's toys beep, talk, or make some kind of noise and I though this would be a fun and quiet thing to play with.  My best friend moved to Japan last week and she has a little girl who just turned two so I decided to make this for 'baby Daisy' as a birthday present thinking it will be fun for her to play with on the plane ride as well.  For some reason I always like to try out new things on other people... new brownie recipe, cooking macaroni and cheese in milk (did not turn out very good!)... so why not this too!

It took a lot longer than I had planned but I think it turned out pretty good!

It opens and there is a pocket on the left hand side with all of the pieces in it.  The body of the potato head is hand sewn on the right side.  There are eyes, mouths, teeth, noses, mustache, glasses, ears, and shoes.

I sewed on Velcro to keep the book closes and also to close the pocket

Olivia wanted to slow off the book by holding in front of her face!

I think it turned out pretty good.  Olivia wanted me to make her one so I did but it is a little bit different.  I sewed her potato head onto felt but then put that onto regular fabric for the cover and handles.

Here is the center and the pieces that I made for hers

Having fun with making some potatoes.

God is with you!

Olivia came to me one day and asked "Can I watch this movie?"  Pointing to the movie case she said "that is the mean guy...  I like that part."  "you do?" I asked her.  She said "I'm not afraid of it anymore."  "Why not" I asked.  And she said "Because God is with me!"  After a a minute she said "You can watch it with me... but don't be afraid because God is with you"

I lover her little heart.  She has been saying these kinds of things a lot lately.  I think she first started when she participated in some vacation bible school activities and she learned that God is with you.

One time she even ran out of the room during a 'scary' part of veggie tales then stopped and said "Oh yeah... God is with me, I don't have to be afraid" and ran back to finish her movie.

Here is a video of her explaining to me why she isn't afraid anymore and why I don't have to be afraid either.

After our bible study on September 30, I was telling Clint we should have praise report/ prayer request time during the first part of our meeting time and Olivia called out "I want to do it!"  So i asked her if she had any prayer requests: anything she wanted us to pray for.  She said Jesus... She wants Jesus in her heart.  So I took her and baby sister over to Clint and we all sat on the couch.  Clint told her that she can pray.  At first she didn't want to but I told her that she can pray and Jesus likes it when little girls talk to him.  Clint told her to repeat what he was saying.  This is the prayer that she whispered:

~

Dear Jesus. Please come into my heart, and be with me always. Amen.

~

Routine

It's Tuesday, October 2nd, and Olivia had her ear tube surgery scheduled for today but instead of doing that she went to pre-school, played outside with her daddy for a LONG time, and watched The Andy Griffith Show with me.  After dealing with Olivia's ear infection and pain for four weeks, I am so thankful that her ear healed up properly and for a doctor who took over thirty minutes in a consultation discussing the decision with me and advising us to wait.  I'm not fearful of her getting tubes- if she needs them later on then we will definitely get them. But I know there are risks with everything (even the routine things) and I don't want her to go though it unless she needs them.


My dad recently had back surgery and even though that isn't necessarily routine, the anesthesia was.  However the anesthesia put his intestines to sleep and it took them a week to start working again and he is still having stomach issues two weeks after the surgery.

I had a routine surgery when I was about five years old.  I had Tonsillitis and was struggling to breath at night so I had my adenoids and tonsils taken out. Having a Tonsillectomy at that time was one of the first things they doctors went for and was extremely routine and safe.  However, mine resulted in being sent home in tears with a visible hole in the corner on my mouth.  I have had several reconstructive surgeries over the years but now you can't even tell which side the hole was on.  I am very grateful to have parents who were able to research and find out what was the best route to have this problems fixed even though it cost them so much at the time.

So routine or not, God is untimely in control and I am glad he chose to heal Olivia's ear naturally for now.

A look back at 2011

I love taking pictures and scrapbooking them but lately I haven't had much time to get out a lot of non-baby stuff and scrapbook .  So instead, I have made a 'Family Yearbook' for the last few years.  Every few months or so, shutterfly will have a code for a free photobook and you only pay the shipping cost.

A couple of days ago I made a yearbook for 2011 and realized that so much has changed since the beginning of last year.  Olivia was a little baby still wearing diapers; Alle wasn't even a thought yet; Clint was working a different job;  I was working a job; We were attending a different church; Olivia was still in day care; She had just started Gymnastics; Cousin Asher was just one month old.... So many changes in the 20 months or so.  Olivia stopped looking so much like a baby and more like the little girl she is now a month or two after her birthday... which is when I found out I was pregnant with Alle.  Even though I have loved my family and cherished our time during 2011, it is hard to imagine my life now without little Alle bug added to it.  I am so thankful for our blessings, hardships, provisions, and additions to our family from God.

Click here to view this photo book larger

By the way... If there are any mistakes in the photo book, please don't tell me.  I have already ordered the book!

Chocolate Chip cookie mix

I have been making my own mixes!  Brownie mix, cookie mix, muffin mix, baking mix, pancake and waffle mix.  I cut the recipes in half because I want to try them first to see if I like them before having to use them for months.  

Two days ago I made and cooked some fake Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip cookie mixes.  There are also recipes for other Betty Crocker cookie mixes in this post on a website called Fake-it-frugal.  They also have recipes for Betty Crocker brownies and fake Clorox clean up.  

Betty Crocker Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix:

1 Cup Flour
1/4 Cup White Sugar
1/2 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
3/4 Cup Chocolate Chips

Mix together and store in a quart size ziplock bag.  Write instructions on the bag to add:  1 Stick Softened Butter, 1 Large Egg, 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract.  Mix & Bake at 350 degrees for 9-11 minutes.

These were very tasty.  They did turn out a little thin though.  I'm not sure if it is because I didn't measure my flour and sugar properly, or because I used some butter and some margarine from two different things and added too much, or because I had the cookie sheet on the stove while the oven was warming and the cookies started melting before they started cooking.  Either way they were still scrumptious but not thick!  

What I do is bake what we want for that day with a few extra and then I freeze the rest of the dough.  I put cookie size balls of the dough onto some freezer paper on an extra cookie sheet and put it in the freezer.  When they freeze I put them in a baggie and just right the correct temperature and time for baking.  Then I can just take out how many I want for the next time I want some cookies.

I made an extra of the cookie mix and some brownie mixes, muffin mix, and some pancake and waffle mix.  I put them all in baggies and wrote on the bag what they are and how much I need to use and what I need to add for when I use the mix.  I put the pancake/waffle mix in an old formula container wrapped in paper.

I put my mixes standing in a tupperware container with my other muffin mixes in my pantry.  When I use my other mixes I will post on how they turned out as well.  I like making cookies and such from scratch and this makes it easier to do so without making as big of a mess because now all I have to do is add the wet ingredients!

Making some bug food

I made my own baby food yesterday... well not for me but for our little Alle bug!  She has been eating baby food for about 6 to 8 weeks now but I wanted to her to eat the store bought at first because the consistency tends to be smoother than when I make it.  But now that she is almost seven months old she can handle some texture in her foods if I don't make it as smooth.

Some of the baby foods that she has been eating are things such as bananas, pears, peaches, sweet potatoes, and butternut squash.  So I went to Packer Produce to get some veggies for us (it is a great farmers market!) and they have a a 1/2 off table in the back.  On the table was a butternut squash with a tinny brown spot on the end.  I paid about $1.50 for it and brought it home to cook it up for Alle bug.

First I peeled it with a vegetable peeler and sliced it long ways and then in about one inch cubes.  There are several different ways you can cook a butternut squash but I choose to put the pieces on the stove to steam.

I let them cook for about 10 minutes until they were soft with a fork.  Then I put them in my food processor. I had to add a little bit of the liquid from my steamer pot to get them to puree properly but you don't want them to be too runny if you are going to freeze them.  I used my ice cube trays and spooned my squash into them.

I was able to fill two ice cube trays!  I put them into our deep freezer and when they were solid I popped them out and but them into a freezer bag with a description and the date.

I have already used three servings and still have a full bag in the freezer.  To thaw you can either put it in the refrigerator for few hours, leave some in a container on the counter for about an hour, or add a small amount of water and microwave if you need to use it immediately (you will have to be careful of hot spots and let it cool before serving).  Once thawed you can adjust the consistency by adding water or adding some baby oatmeal or rice cereal to thicken.

A jar of stage 2 baby food is about $.89 depending on what brand you buy.  I made the entire baggie of squash in about 20 minutes and $1.50.  I think the savings are definitely worth it and I will continue to make this and other kinds of baby food as well.

I hope this encourages someone else to do this too.  Even if you only have time once or twice a month to make and freeze one batch, you will still be saving money and feel good about doing it yourself to feed your baby some healthy foods!

And by the way... She loved it!

2012 Olympic Gymnastics...

Olivia has been taking gymnastics lessons for a year and a half.  They had an end-of-the-year program where her class demonstrated what they learned this past year.  Olivia's class ages ranged from 2 years old to 4 years old.  They are all so cute doing flips, running, jumping on the trampoline, and walking on the balance beam.  Their big ending was them jumping on a trampoline then doing a jump flip.  The first few times Olivia did this trick she did a superman dive!  She finally got the hang of it and did a great job.

Watch the video below... it is super cute!

Purpose in daily life

The beginning of May Clint started his new job and I official became a stay at home mother.  We made commitments to eat healthier and exercise.  So far I have been going to the YMCA at least three times a week but usually five.  I have been going to the farmers market often and having more fruits and vegetables in the home.  I have also been using SuperTracker to keep track of what I eat on a daily basis.  Since May 1st to today, I have lost 13 pounds and I am only 1 pound away from my pre-pregnancy weight. Go me!

The YMCA has been incorporated into my daily schedule and buying more fruits and vegetables has helped us to eat them daily.  I was thinking about this while sitting in church and realized that there are other things that I know is good for me to do and I have good intentions for, but I don't think about them daily.  When I do think about them I realize I haven't done them in several days... or weeks.  


So sitting there listening to praise and worship music, I wrote down a list of daily commitments that are either difficult for me to do at times or I just forget about doing:

1. Clean my kitchen sink
2. Spend 5 minutes in 2 rooms cleaning
3. Help Olivia with 3/5 minutes toy pickup
4. Talk to Olivia about God/Jesus
5. Tummy time with Alle for 5 minutes
6. Read one chapter/section in the Bible
7. Read one Relevant article
8. Listen to my Pandora worship station
9. Show extra kindness toward 1 person
10. Always use kind words


Too many days go by where all I did was try to clean up the messes that were being made, keep Olivia from smothering her sister and being too whinny, trying to keep Alle's crying to a minimum, and try to get supper on the table.  I would feel like I was running in circles not really having anything to show for my stress for the day.  While I am writing this, The Motions by Matthew West is playing on my Pandora (doing #8!).  Although I do not feel at my lowest or that my life needs an overhaul, I do feel like I am just doing the minimal motions of being a parent and wife at times.


These are things that will help cultivate my spiritual life as well as my relationships with my husband and children.  I want to use this season of life that I am in to grow as a woman, wife, mother, and daughter of Christ.  

I want my days to be purposeful.

Olivia is Three!

Olivia is growing up!  She had a wonderful 3rd birthday this year with her family and friends.  Her birthday came right at the end of the school year with all of those activities going on.  Olivia's birthday was the week after the last day of school so she had her pre-school birthday party a week early.  She was all decked out in the tutu and crown that her Granny and Granddaddy gave to her.

When I asked her what she wanted for her pre-school party she said cupcakes and balloons.  I think she will always be happy if she has those two things!

Olivia got two special things for her birthday.  The first was a handmade birthday outfit with an 'O' for Olivia made by my cousin.  She is very talented and french!  I think it turned out wonderfully.  She also makes all kinds of other things that you can check out at her Etsy store.

The second special thing she got was a necklace from her daddy.  For months she has been asking for a heart necklace just like mommy's necklace.  She will hold it and say 'I like your necklace. I want a necklace like yours.'  And then she would go to her daddy and say in the sweetest voice 'Daddy, will you get me a necklace like mommy's for my birthday?'  Come on now... how can you resist such a sweet little girl with such a sweet request?  So Clint went to Claire's and picked out a necklace that looked like mine and gave it to Olivia the morning on her party so she could wear it with her birthday outfit.

The theme for Olivia's birthday party was 'Olivia The Pig'!  I love that show.  I think it comes on Nick Jr although I'm not sure because we don't have satellite or cable.  My friend Erin was the first to introduce us to the show.  She mailed us a DVD when Olivia was probably about 6 months old and we have been hooked ever since.  Olivia has two of the DVDs and several books (mostly from her friend Jojo).

We were able to have the party and Beans and strings and the decorations were pretty awesome.  I made signs for Olivia's rule's of life such as 'Never miss a very important party' and 'Red is the very best color for absolutely, positively everything.'  So of course EVERYTHING had to be RED!  Twizzlers, red m&m's, strawberries, red grapes, peppermints, peanut butter and strawberry jelly sandwiches, and homemade cupcakes with red sprinkles on top!  I also made homemade play dough for the party favors. 

Olivia had a great time at her party.  She had a lot of her family there, some friends, cupcakes, and red balloons... All of the things to make her happy.

That afternoon we played on the back porch with her bubbles and with her new dress up box.

Her actually birthday was a few days later so we let her choose where she wanted to have her birthday lunch.  'Chickalay' is her favorite place so we met up there with Nana for some lunch.  She took her birthday money to Walmart and picked out a 'BIIIIG'(with the hand motions) bouncy ball and a miniature Rapunzel doll.  Olivia's gift from us was the movie Tangled and a popcorn that pops on the stove.  She already had the larger Rapunzel doll and purple dress from Christmas so we had a princess night watching her new movie.

I cant believe she is already three years old and is becoming a little lady.  Before she turned three, whenever anyone would say something about her growing up she would get upset and say "I'm not growin up.  My mommy wants me to stay little!"  But now she tells me "I'm going to grow up, but I'll still be Olivia."  I guess I need to be reminded of that sometimes.

Two Year Old Pre-school Program

It's been a while since I posted.  I guess having a toddler who is out of school and a baby at home takes up more time than I thought.  I have a lot of catching up to do. We have had several end of school year activities, a big "3" birthday party, some experimenting in jam making and canning, and several summer activities.  Plus Alle is growing up quickly!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Olivia has been in Two year old pre-school all year.  She has learned so much and has loved it.  The pre-school only had a 2 year old and 3 year old class for this past year.  They are adding a 4 year old class next year that I am excited about because Olivia can go all three years to the same preschool.  Also Olivia's 2 yr old teacher is moving up to the 3 yr old room for next year.  We all love Mrs Dedi!  :)

Olivia loves Mrs Dedi!

For the program all of the kids had something to say in the microphone.  Olivia's part in the program was to be the first one up to the microphone and say "welcome to our program".  I struggled to get her to practice saying her lines for about a month and she would only say then a few times.  I was nervous that she just wouldn't want to say them.  But I was wrong!  Mrs Dedi called her up to the microphone and she said in her cute Olivia voice "welcome to our program".  I was so proud of her!  But the unfortunate thing is that Clint recorded up to the point of her walking to the microphone and then it stopped!  We don't know what happened but we will be getting the official video from her Granny soon and hopefully you can see and hear her on that.  

Before she got called up to do her part all the kids walked in the chapel holding hands and sat on the mini-bleachers up front.  A few seconds later Olivia saw us sitting a few rows back and yelled "Mommy! Daddy!" while running to give us hugs.  That started the mutiny as all of the other children yelled and ran to their parents in the audience!

They sang some songs, Olivia chewed on her dress, each child had something to say, Olivia and her friend almost got into a cat fight, they got up to wander around and run to parents throughout the program, ... All the fun things you would expect from two and three year old pre-k! At the end each child said their name into the microphone, got a diploma, and went to their parents.  Olivia did a great job saying her name but then ran to the wrong parents before she found us!  It's not like she hadn't ran to us several different times during the program.  Clint and I laughed pretty much the entire time!

* * * * * * * * * *

Video highlights: The entrance and the mutiny, Olivia almost saying her part, stomping, the fight, running to the wrong parents:

Custom Bleached Shirts

We are planning on working on different fun projects throughout the summer and this week we made custom bleached shirts for Olivia.

What you need:
-A shirt
-Freezer paper
-Bleach
-Spray bottle or water gun
-Cardboard
-Bucket or something to put the shirt in and get wet
-Rubber gloves (optional)

We couldn't find any plain colored shirts in her size so we got two tank tops from walmart.

1.  Draw on the wax paper what you want on your shirt... letters, shapes, designs.  Then you put them on your shirt wax side down.  What is under the wax paper will remain the color of the shirt and what is sprayed with the bleach will turn a lighter color.

2. Iron the wax paper onto your shirt (wax side down).  Make sure your iron is on medium heat and the steam is not on.  Iron for a couple of minutes until the wax paper is stuck all around the edges.

3.  Put a piece of cardboard inside your shirt so the bleach wont bleed through

4.  Fill your spray bottle or water gun with bleach.  You can cut the bleach with some water if you would like.

5.  Now spray your shirt!  Make sure you are not spaying into the wind or dripping the bleach onto your self.  The shirt will look better in only a portion of your shirt is sprayed instead of the entire thing and it also looks different if you spray a light mist or if you drip a lot of the bleach in one spot.

6.  It took several minutes before I could tell the bleached portion of the shirt turning.  And I left the bleach on the pink shirt for about 15 minutes.  It may just depend on what kind of shirt it is.

7.  When the shirt gets to the color you want it then put it into some water and swish it around.  The paper will probably start to peel off.  I went ahead and took all the freezer paper off at this point.

8.  After rinsing off your shirt put it into the washer machine before wearing.

I think they turned out pretty well.  The pink one does not look as good and the letters bled through.  I'm not sure if that was because I didn't iron them on as well or because I left the bleach on too long... or both.

The next day I found a brown shirt from Olivia's room and traced an elephant onto the wax paper.  I really like how this one turning out.  It started turning colors almost immediately after we sprayed the bleach.  It could have been because of the color of the shirt or maybe because we were out int he middle of the day and the sun was hot!  Either way I like it a lot!

First Time SAHM

I've had kind of a crazy life since I've been married.  We got married August 14, 2004 (on my 21st birthday) - three months after I graduated.  Although I was graduated I still had one more class left to take.  During that fall I took that one last class and tried to get use to being a wife and cooking and cleaning and such while living in Toccoa Ga.  That December I finished my class and we moved down to Valdosta.  Clint was doing some programming work with a guy we knew and I was traveling to Moultrie to help at my dad's office a few days a week.  During that time I was looking into being a house parent.  We started working at the Florida Sheriff's Boys Ranch in June 2005.  After that we worked at Girls and Boys Town in Tallahassee Florida starting in January 2006.  We worked there for nine months then moved back to Moultrie.  We both got jobs pretty quick - Clint at Futuristech and I at Green Oaks Center.  I worked there in three different positions until December 2008 when I started at Professional Case Management Services of America (PCSA) where I was a Case manager for individuals at Green Oaks and other centers.  When Olivia turned One I decided to make a changes so I could spend more time with her and not be as stressed.  I helped start Lifespring Child Care Center in August 2010.  I worked there part time and also at Beans and strings part time.  That December I decided to work solely at the church doing the day care in the mornings and working at LASSO (after school program) in the afternoons with Clint.  Due to some issues, I decided to quit working at the daycare in May and just worked at dad's office a few days a week helping enter information and scan files into their new paperless system.  Starting January 2012, Clint would no longer be able to run LASSO due to him pursuing a job with Mclean Engeneering.  I have worked with LASSO off and on since it started and didn't want to see it suddenly end, so I decided to take up the role of lead instructor for the spring 2012 semester even though I was going to have a baby in February.

So coming up to the present... We decided it was time for LASSO to come to an end and April 26 was the last day.  I planned a party for LASSO that day.  I love all the kids in the youth and at LASSO and will miss them very much.  But one really cool thing about that day is Clint found out that he got a Software Engineering job at McLean Engineering earlier that day.  Up until that point we were not sure if he would have a job for May and if he did, we were not sure if it would be part time or full time (He had been going back and forth all year).  We were in a waiting period trying to figure out what we were going to do as far as job/money went.  We felt like God wanted us to just wait and not make plans until the end of April when we found out something about job situations.  So although it was sad to say good bye to our students, it was very fitting that the last day of LASSO was also the day Clint was offered a Software Engineer job - Turning a page and starting a new chapter of life.....

All that leaves me to say that this is the first time in my life I am not working a job and am a full-time Stay At Home Mom (SAHM).  I've never really had any long-term plans as far as a job/career but I've always known that I wanted to be a mother and raise godly children.  So I guess this is my full-time job for now.

Friday Fav: Homemade Play Dough

Olivia is having her 3rd birthday party tomorrow and the theme is Olivia the Pig.  If you have never heard of Olivia the Pig you need to check it out.  It is a TV show that comes on Nick Jr.  Olivia the Pig's favorite color is RED.  Anything she can have red, she does!  We are going to try to have as much red as possible at Olivia's birthday party.  So for the party favors at the birthday party I decided to make red play dough.

I went off the recipe on this blog, and this blog, and this video.  Most of the recipes I found called for Cream of Tarter.  I looked at Winn Dixie and Walmart and could not find it at either place!  After watching the video and reading the blog I scrolled down to read all of the comments.  Some people said that they replaced the Cream of Tarter with Lemon Juice and one person even said they added a little Vinegar to help slow bacteria growth.  I used these two suggestions but there were also others suggestions such as using Kool-aid packets to color and different extracts to scent.  I really wanted to add glitter but I couldn't find what I needed at Walmart.

These are the ingredients I ended up using:

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups water
1 cup non-iodized salt
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 splash vinegar
1 splash vanilla extract
red food coloring

Put all of the ingredients into a medium or large sauce pan on the stove and used a whisk to mix them together.  Turn the stove on medium heat and use a wooden spoon to stir constantly.  After about 2 or 3 minutes the spoon will start to scrape some thickness up from the bottom of the pan.  Keep stirring making sure you scrape the bottom on the pan each time.

(The color looks a little different because the flash was used on some of the pics)

Your mixture will get thicker and thicker.  Just keep stirring.  Eventually all of the liquid will turn to a thick goo.  When this happens, take it off the stove and let cool for a couple of minute.

When the mixture cooled slightly scrapped it onto some plastic wrap onto the counter.  While it is still hot, fold and need it a few times.  This will help the texture become more like play dough.  I then separated it out into nine small balls, but you can keep it in one large lump.  You can also cut this recipe in half or wait until the end to add your color so you can have more variety in colors.

It was pretty easy and fun to make.  I took the balls and put them in zip lock baggies so I can give them away as party favors at Olivia's party.  Have fun with making this homemade play dough!

Friday Favorite: The Smoothie Life

Last week Clint found out that he got the full-time job he has been pursuing at McLean Engineering.  We will be making more money now but we didn't want that money to just go to whatever.  We decided to dedicate some extra money to our health.  We started our YMCA membership back and all this week we have been making smoothies.  Smoothies have been a trend in Moultrie for a few weeks now.  Beans and Strings have fresh fruit smoothies and a green smoothie that has spinach in it.  Also Carrie Viohl (my sister-in-law) has been making some crazy health smoothies and posting her creations on Facebook.  So we decided to try eating healthy smoothies either with our meal or as a snack in an attempt to eat less during lunch and supper.

Here are the smoothies we have made so far...


1st smoothie
Normal fruit smoothie with papaya.
Ingredients: 1/2 of a papaya, about 15 strawberries, 1 banana, Ice, milk
Tasted like a normal strawberry/banana smoothie.
2 1/2 servings

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2nd smoothie
Orange smoothie with papaya
Ingredients: 4 carrots, 1/2 of a papaya, strawberry yogurt, milk, ice
Tasted like carrots.  I added a little orange juice afterwards and it tasted more like oranges. We will put orange juice instead of milk next time.
2 1/2 servings

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3rd smoothie
Green smoothie carrots.
Ingredients: 2 carrots, 1 large handful of spinach, 1 kiwi, 1 banana, orange juice, ice
Too much of a carrot taste.  I added more juice so it would taste more like oranges.
2 1/2 servings

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4th smoothie
Orange smoothie with strawberries (Olivia's invention)
Ingredients:  1 carrot, 1 banana, about 10 strawberries, strawberry yogurt, milk, ice
Tasted a hint of strawberry
1 1/2 to 2 servings

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5th smoothie
Super green smoothie with blueberries
1 Banana, 1 handful of spinach, 1 green apple, 1 kiwi, 1 handful of blueberries, apple juice, ice
Tasted like green apple.  This one is a keeper.
2 1/2 servings

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6th smoothie
Peach smoothie
Ingredients: 3 peaches, 1 frozen banana, 1 handful of blueberries, vanilla yogurt, milk, ice
Tasted like peaches with specs of blueberries in it.
1 1/2 to 2 servings

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7th smoothie
Orange smoothie with mango
Ingredients: 2 carrots, 1 Mango, about 8 strawberries, vanilla yogurt, milk, ice
This one is my favorite so far!  It had a beautiful color.  I could really taste the mango and I didn't taste the carrots at all. Clint put a little extra yogurt than normal, that probably made it sweeter and pulled out the mango flavor.
2 1/2 servings

Another good thing about these smoothies is that Olivia loves them too!  She doesn't eat many vegetables by themselves so this is a good way to get her some of those good nutrients as well.

Allene Drue: baby dedication (on earth day)

Today is April 22nd, Earth Day.  Television commercials, celebrates, and news stories are talking about the environment telling us we need to plant a tree, take shorter showers, and use less plastic.  But I just look back at Genesis one.  God gives us dominion over all birds, fish and every living thing that moves over the earth and has given us every plant yielding seed and every tree yielding fruit with seed.  In the middle of all that, God made man in his image.  So perhaps Earth day should be less about using reusable bags and wearing the color green and more about our relationship with God, the responsibilities he has given us here on earth, and being good stewards of what he has given us.

That is why we planned on this earth day (although I didn't know it was earth day when I set the date!) to have Alle's baby dedication.  For different reasons we chose to have it at my parents home with our families and close friends.  We ended up having 16 adults and 12 children join us in the dedication of our baby to the Lord.  The weather was great and there was something special about having everyone stand around while we had the mini-ceremony.

Here is a transcript of what was said at the dedication:

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Psalm 127:3-5:
Children are a heritage from the LORD, offspring a reward from him.
Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are children born in one’s youth.
Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them.
They will not be put to shame when they contend with their opponents in court.

This passage shows us that Children are a gift and blessing from the Lord. As with all the gifts from God, some people are given more, some are given less. Some appreciate and adore the gift and some reject or abuse the gift. Our response as christian parents should be thankful for these gifts, love and adore them. Cherish and take care of them and give them the training and teaching that they will carry with them for the rest of their lives.

Proverbs 22:6 says:
Start children off on the way they should go, 

and even when they are old they will not turn from it.

Anna and I are making a public declaration today, in front of our friends and family, that we will do what the Proverb 22 passage speaks of:

::We commit to loving, protecting, and when necessary disciplining Alle as she grows up.

::We commit to teaching Alle the value and importance of Family by loving being actively involved in our extended families.

::We commit to to teaching Alle the value of having Christian friends by having and sharing our lives with our Christian friends.

::We commit to teaching Alle the importance of being a part of the body of Christ by actively loving and serving in and among our church family.

::We commit to teaching Alle the value and importance of the marriage relationship by, as her parents, loving and serving each other as long as we both live.

::Most importantly We commit to teaching Alle the scripture and training her up in the ways of the Lord, and understanding that while we are given stewardship over her for a season, she ultimately belongs to the Lord.

Now we ask you as our family and friends to help us maintain these commitments. If you agree with the previously spoken statements and you agree to holding Anna and Myself accountable, but also assisting us whenever it is within your power, to help us follow through with these things, would you signify by say “We Will”

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We also asked the grandfathers to say a prayer or a blessing over Allene Drue

After the ceremony we all enjoyed a meal together and visiting with our family and our friends.  It was a lovely thing to have this dedication service to be with the people who mean the most in our lives.  

On a side note.... Olivia and Alle wore dresses that used to be mine when I was a little girl and they were supper cute! 

For today's Friday Favorite.... it is me as a little girl in two of my favorite pictures.  I have always loved this first picture.  I am at a Zoo somewhere looking out at a field of elephants.  The reason why I love this picture is because I L-O-V-E elephants... always have.

This one my mom showed me a few years ago.  It is me as a little baby.  There is a story behind this picture of where we were and who took the picture... but I forget what it is.  Either way I like this picture as well.