Halloween 2012

Is it just me or did Halloween sneak up on us this year?  Thankfully, the kids didn't want extravagant costumes.  Preston wanted to be Spiderman (w/ the muscles in the costume) and Kaitlyn wanted to be a Purple Spotted Leopard Pillow Pet.  Yes, you read that correctly.

 

It was actually pretty easy to make.  I got her some pink clothes, cut out some purple felt pieces, and pinned them to her clothes.  Done!

 

We  headed to the Fall Fest at our church.  Preston had to earn a Royal Rangers badge for doing a good deed at a community event.  He signed up to help with a game.  Craig and Kaitlyn helped out at the Sand Art table.

 

Preston was in charge of bowling.  He looks so excited, doesn't he?

 

Then, they played some games.

 

We all played Bingo together.

 

And went on a hayride.

 

We ended the night with a late dinner from Sonic and went to bed exhausted.  Next year, I promised the kids they could experience Trick or Treating.  Can't wait to share that experience!

Pumpkin Patch 2012

It was time for our annual trip to the pumpkin patch.  We decided to go on a Saturday after Craig walked in the Susan B. Komen Walk For The Cure and Preston's T-ball Game.  It also happened to be hot!  Here are a few pics showcasing our fun trip.

The kids always love going through the maze.

They posed on some of the wooden structures.

Preston can be such a ham!

We all poked our heads through the pumpkins.

At first, the kids said they were too old to pose with the cartoon characters.  It about broke my heart!  But I knew this day would come.  :(  Finally, Preston decided to stand with the Smurfs.  That made me happy.

We took some time to check out the few animals on the property.

We all went on the hayride, which is one of our favorite parts.  I love the view of the pumpkin patch when we're riding around.

The kids also rode on the little train.  They look completely bored in the picture, but I think they enjoyed it still.

Of course, we had to take our family picture in the same spot that we do every year.  Notice what we're wearing?  It felt like summer.

Craig and I had to sneak in a little picture too.

Fortunately, Craig's parents were able to join us for part of the trip.  We brought home some pie pumpkins and then took a nice nap.  Good times!

Fall Party 2012

The kids and I had our annual Fall Party.  We spent a Saturday just relaxing and doing some fun fall things.  Kaitlyn and Preston picked out some crafts to decorate.

Then we made some Halloween Brownie Bites.  These actually didn't pull apart that easily.

So, they didn't bake into perfect little shapes.  But they were still delicious!

We also popped some popcorn and watched our favorite Halloween movie, Hocus Pocus.

Next, we went to the annual Harvest Stew Festival at the library.  This year, Craig was finally able to join us.  The kids enjoyed the little petting zoo.

The kids played games.

We were entertained by a juggler/fire eater/unicyclist.

Preston decorated his own cookie.  Promptly after this picture was taken, the cookie fell on the ground!

 Of course, there was stew.  

Can't wait for next year's Fall Party

And Action!

God has blessed me with a great life and has given me such unique opportunities.  I always love the next little adventure that God shows me.  Recently, I got to be on film not once, but twice!  For those that know me, you know that is right up my alley because of my passion for performing.  

The first video shoot was for a local mega church that uses training videos for the children's department.  An old family friend (I went to church with her in the 90's!) writes curriculum for the church and asked if I would like to participate.  Of course!!!!!  It was a lot of fun and I'm still waiting for official permission to release photos and details.  Hopefully, more to come.

Next, I got to be part of a film that is due out next fall.  You can read the whole story of OneHeart and understand for yourself just how special of a story this is.  I've heard about since it happened because the Coach and his family attend my church.  When I found out they were going to be filming this fall, I was ecstatic!!!  After going through all the proper channels, I was able to be an extra in the movie.  

It was interesting to see the whole process.  I really took a moment to take in the whole scene because who knows when I would have the opportunity again.  I loved seeing  'behind the scenes' and really learning what an Assistant Director does, see what the cameraman has to do, see how the actors treat their fans, etc.

I was fortunate to get a picture with Romeo Miller.  He was super friendly with everybody and loved chatting with people when he had the chance.

So, through all the chaos and mundane everyday things that we have to get through, it's always nice to take a break and do something out of the ordinary.  Thank you, God, for all these blessings!!!

Fast Easy Bread

Recently, Kaitlyn and I were invited to a fun night of bread baking.  My friend Lindsey has a company called Fast Easy Bread.  She showed us, a few other ladies, and their daughters how quickly you can make homemade bread and a delicious meal in 2 hours!

Lindsey thoroughly explained all the steps and we shared her enthusiasm to make something so simple.

Dump all the dry ingredients into a bowl.  The recipe calls for lecithin, which comes in the Fast Easy Bread bundles.  Lindsey showed us an easy way to add the liquid ingredients.  Using the back of the measuring spoon that's needed, make a dimple in the dry ingredients.  Then, just pour your liquid into that dimple.  Easy!

Mix it well in a mixer or by hand and you'll have a good size ball of dough.  One ball of dough makes A LOT!!!!  You can make bread bowls, rolls, and much more.  With the first batch of dough, we were going to make pumpkin bread bowls for soup.  Round the dough and shape it like a haystack as best as you can.  Then, gently score the dough to make the pumpkin ridges.

Pull a piece of dough from the top center and shape it to make a stem.  Then, just paint the stem and pumpkin using food coloring.

Stick the stem on top of the pumpkin, cover with a cloth, and let it rise for just a little bit.  Then, it's ready for the oven.

When it comes out of the oven, you have a beautiful pumpkin made of bread.  

While the bread is baking, Lindsey showed us a very easy way to make Broccoli Cheese Soup.  Also on her site, she sells a cream sauce that is used in lots of restaurants as their soup base.  

Add lots of broccoli, cheese, and a couple of other ingredients and cook it over medium heat on the stove.

Cut off the top of the pumpkin and scoop out the inside.  Be sure to save the "innards" because it's great for dipping.

Fill your pumpkin with some soup and it's ready to enjoy!  The best part-it's completely edible!

 That's not all.  We also had dessert to make.  Kaitlyn helped her new friend, Loni, spread out some more dough onto a cookie sheet.

Kaitlyn mixed up a yummy cream cheese filling.

She spread the filling down the center of the dough and added some apples coated in cinnamon and sugar.  The sides were sliced into strips and "braided" across the apples.

The Caramel Apple Braid was delicious!

AND, there was homemade Monkey Bread.  Just cut the dough into pieces, coat in cinnamon and sugar, place in a bundt pan, and drizzle with caramel sauce.  

Kaitlyn and I enjoyed our experience.  We learned some new things, ate some great food, and got to do it all together in just 2 hours.  Be sure to check out Lindsey's site, blog, or Facebook page.

I did not receive compensation for this post.  All opinions are my own.

First Day of School 2012

Well, another school year has started.  The kids have already had spelling tests, made new friends, and really love their teachers.  Fortunately, I am able to be the Room Rep (Room Mom) for both of their classes so I look forward to helping as much as possible.

Their school bags from last year look almost brand new still but their lunchboxes didn't hold up as well.  So, they get new ones for this year.

Craig and I gave the teachers gifts.  We wanted to let them know we were praying for them for this new school year.

Kaitlyn and Preston were so excited for school.

No tears this year...well, at least not from the kids.  As Kaitlyn was about to enter her class, her very sweet teacher said "When you enter this door, you will officially be a 3rd grader.  Are you ready?"  Geez, I almost lost it.  I really had to fight back the tears.  Preston was so eager for us to leave so he could get started with school.  Quite the opposite from last year.

As I finally had a day ALL TO MYSELF, I went home to make their special First Day of School treat.  My mom had recently given me a secret recipe of my grandma's famous Applesauce Cake with homemade Caramel Icing.  My grandma would have this at her house, covered by a metal cake cover, every time there were visitors.  I loved this cake!  I'm so glad I have the recipe to make for my family now.

I set the cake on the table along with their First Day of School surprises.  We've been getting rid of all of their old kiddie dishes and they love to get matching dish sets at Target.  So I surprised them with another dish set.  The kids loved their surprises!

I always let them pick whatever they want for dinner on the First Day of School.  Their choice?  Burger King!  I listed all sorts of restaurants or homemade dishes and told them I could cook them anything.  But no, they wanted Burger King.  So, that's where we headed.  And they really enjoyed it.

Here are their First Day of School photos from 2011 and then this year.  How quickly they grow!

Craft Room Confessionals: I Confess

So, I must confess, my blogging break went on longer than expected.  I planned to take a week or two off from blogging while all the back to school events and issues got settled.  Well, things still don't seem quite settled and I pray for peace every day.  But I must get back to blogging.

Blogging, or writing in general, is very cathartic for me.  I don't always write for an intentional audience, but I write to free my mind of the clutter that builds up.  I write to release some creativity or inspiring words that God has spoken into my heart.  I write because it's something I've always done.

As I type this, I am sitting in my newly decorated office/craft room (update soon) and am already excited for new projects. I am listening to my favorite type of music (Jazz) and letting some creativity flow, even if it's for just a moment.

I have come to realize many things in the short time that I've been on my blogging break.  I've learned things about my family, myself, and the way we live our lives that I've never noticed before.  Gradually, we may be able to share these things with others.  But as for now, I feel God is working on our home, our little 4-person family unit, and is molding us into ways we never expected.

If you are reading this, I always pray that my words can touch someone in a positive way.  I've received many encouraging words about my blogs and I sincerely hope you feel encouraged after reading my posts.  Thank you for going on this journey with us.  We are just a typical suburban family, with similar struggles, always striving for God's best.