Play Dough...Big Whoop

I know. Homemade play dough. It's been done before.

You are not impressed.

All I'm sayin' is that we made this play dough and immediately following, the clouds parted and angels began to sing.

And they were singing about play dough.

(kidding)

My children played with play dough for hours. HOURS. UPON HOURS.

Of course Samuel pretended to make rocks....snakes....balls....even a cute little baby Larry from Veggie Tales. You know? Regular play dough creations.

The girls however, staged a fierce competition between chefs and starred in the newest Food Network program called, "You Can't Eat It But It Shore Does Look Good!"

I think they might have a shot. Have you seen some of the stuff they make on the Food Network???

Maybe you already have a play dough recipe. Maybe not. I got this one from a mother of nine and she promised it to be the best. I sort of trust her opinion.

• 2 1/2- 3 cups of flour
• 1/2 cup of salt
• 1 tablespoon of alum
• 2 cups of boiling water
• 2 tablespoons of oil
• food coloring

And this stuff? We threw it all away!

For more Works-For-Me Wednesday ideas go to Rocks In My Dryer!

Heel Rollin...

My girls have always teased me about the way I pronounce the word, "hill" which apparently should rhyme with the word "Jill".

Says who?

We did some serious "heel rolling" while we were in Maryland and in keeping with my neverendingforeverlong posts about vacations, here we are again remembering the fun time we had a couple of weeks ago....

Warning.

If you choose to sit here and read this post you will waste a good 10 minutes.
And you might get vertigo.

More about blogs I read...

I finally updated my sidebar to include several links to blogs that I love and have been reading for a while. I will try to write a little about each of them in the coming days (which means....if I have time or if I can remember).

For now, I'll tell you about Preschoolers and Peace. I found Kendra's blog through Kim's sidebar and I loved it from the very first visit. What an organized momma! Charts! Schedules! Ideas! Crafts! Oh, she speaketh my love language!

Plus, she has this wealth of knowledge in homeschooling and parenting, being that she is the mother of 8 precious children. I was a daily visitor to her blog when I sat down one morning just a few short weeks ago and found that their newest baby, Joseph, was not well and had been taken to the nearest hospital. Little Joe was just over a month old and over the course of several days, his little body appeared to be under viral attack. This sweet family who had shared their wisdom and love for God was in need of prayer.

I found myself in a bizarre but very real state of genuine love and concern. I didn't even really know these people. I mean, Kendra (Joe's momma) wrote with candor and humility in a way that made me feel like I knew her, but still.....this was the blog world. I prayed and watched...

• Watching this tiny baby fight through the illness that was seeking to overtake his system was so difficult.
• Watching this family glorify God daily, exemplified what it means to serve a holy and sovereign God.
• Watching their church rally around them in prayer and love brought tears to my eyes.

But.

Watching them bring home Mighty Joe, who has made a healthy recovery, has been the sweetest blessing. Even though I do not know them, I know their Savior and I have counted it a priviledge to be in prayer to Him, for them, over these last several weeks.

Read His story of provision in the life of Mighty Joe by starting at the beginning right here. As you follow along, trace God's hand in the day to day allowance of grace and love as he covers this family.

And, if you visit Kendra's blog, be sure and check out that sidebar with it's Pages! and Topics! It is a plethura of ideas and encouragement :)

Be Fully Convinced...

There is a great article from Pulpit Magazine about Honoring God In Gray Areas from a couple of days ago. In it, there is a list of seven questions that are helpful in making decisions that are not necessarily black or white in scripture.

I know that my tendency is to claim absolutes on certain "gray" issues that I have either:

A) been firmly convicted of
or
B) are easy to apply to my life

Where I find myself resting in gray areas are those places where my flesh struggles to apply biblical truth and/or conviction. There are not really "gray" areas where God allows us to waiver and sit on the fence. There is no glory in professing that God does not care.

"But when he asks, he must believe and not doubt, because he who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That man should not think he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a double-minded man, unstable in all he does." James 1: 6-8

He does however allow for liberty in making certain decisions that may differ from one christian to the next. (gasp)

Oh, does this ever challenge me! Especially in those areas that I mentioned above (A & B) because, come on! On those issues where we stand so firmly it is so obvious, right? How could someone not come to the exact same determination?

Thank you God for grace.

It has required daily humility and reverence for God...His ways...His revelation...His purpose, so that I do not diminish His sovereign ability to convict through both the Word and the Holy Spirit.

Notice His ability. He is able.

"Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us..." Ephesians 3:20

Piper has a wonderful sermon (as usual!) about being fully convinced, no matter what the issue. And have mercy there are some issues, aren't there?

Homeschool, television, alcohol, modesty.....the list is endless and different for everyone. Piper asks these three simple questions which make a very complex decision quite simple.

1.) Is it sinful?
2.) Is it honoring to Christ?
3.) Is it the best way I can think for me to act in this situation?

Then the hard part. Be convicted and convinced and honor Him in your decision.

Therefore, I do not say to you, “Lighten up.” Or, “Don’t sweat the small stuff.” Rather I say, “Stand in awe of the risen Christ who will get his glory from the living and from the dead and from the eaters and the abstainers and from the day-keepers and the non-day-keepers. Stand in awe of Jesus Christ. And whatever you do, whether you eat or whether you drink, do all to the glory of Christ (1 Corinthians 10:31).

John Piper

Blogs I Read

I have been meaning to update my sidebar to include some wonderful blogs that are a part of my daily reading. If you don't subscribe to Bloglines (or something like that) I highly recommend it. It cuts down on surfing and really condenses my reading time. I often minimize things that I want to read during a quiet period or print them for later. I can skim through the blogs that are updated rather quickly instead of visiting each and every site....although for some reason I always have to open my favorites. Something about seeing their faces and the familiarity of their blog design.

Weird.

Anyhoo. Here is one of the new (or fairly new to me) blogs that I love!

Jen @ Peace In The Pandemonium-

Ya'll. This girl is funny, smart, and guess what??? She likes to parent on purpose! Deliberate parenting! She's one of those people! She loves Christ and her family and so her blog is a sweet and witty reflection of both (with a kickin' new design!).

I have found out recently that she also loves grammar....which makes me sore afraid. I already have a lurking brother-in-law who gets a kick out of finding all of my grammatical hiccups. I have to pretend that Jen looks past my apostrophe issues and sees the real me.

The coolest thing about Jen is that she lives right close to my precious Lea Ann! I contacted Jen when I saw that she lived in Maryland and come to find out, these girls are almost neighbors! There are so many awesome things that have transpired as a result of blogging and this counts as one of the coolest.

I just totally gave away my age by using "coolest" in my blog post.

Jen has been able to offer insight and advice to my dear friend and I am forever grateful. And get this. Our families had a little get-together last week when we visited Maryland for the 4th of July weekend. Jen's kids are the exact same age as Lea Ann's three and my two (Hannah & Emma) and they all made fast friends at the pool. We may have only spent a short little afternoon together but it was clear that our common bond was Jesus & our family.

What more in common do you need?

Here are some pics from our little rendezvous:

This is Lea Ann's shrimp salad. Notice the shakers. She makes every meal opportunity a "dining experience".

Hence, the Hot Tamales.

Hannah & The Haircut..... She lives.

My Girlies.
Hannah & Ellen

My Boy....The Gansta

One of Jen's Boys....He's shy.

Jen's other boy....He's shy too.

Did I say shy? I meant to say gregarious, unreserved, extroverted, and very sociable.
That is sweet Sydney on the back row.

Notice Sammer's "gansta" influence has rubbed off on his sister.
And can you smell the testosterone that Samuel is trying to garner from Payton?
Obviously, Sawyer and Ethan have some youngest sibling/armpit issues. They go hand-in-hand.

O.K. boys. Take note...
See the sweet smiles? The composure? The self-control?

Obviously not.

See how Emma sits with boys? It's because she thinks boys can be your friends.
Not BOYFRIENDS!
Simply amazing.

We had a great time!

Works-For-Me Wednesday

I won't link this on Shannon's site but I thought I would share it with my "close" friends. I have a fabulous tip for Works-For-Me Wednesday and I just had to share it with you guys!

This is a sure-fire way to drop those unwanted pounds. And quick.

A couple of days ago Samuel started chanting in a sing-song voice saying, "Momma is gonna have a baby! Hey duys! Momma is gonna have a baby! YES SHE IS! YES SHE IS! See? See? She's got a baby right there in her bottom!"

That's right folks. My son just said that I had a baby.

In my bottom.

Don't try to patronize me with the ol' pat on the fat moms back. It ain't working.

Running shoes? Me and you got some work to do.

Fulfillment

I often link to other blogs when I read things that express my thoughts better than I ever could.

Carolyn Mahaney has written about fulfillment...personal fulfillment, which is something that our society rallies for constantly. I have had numerous conversations with women about this very thing over the years while I have raised our children and spent the majority of those years at home full-time. This little post will either resonate with you in a way that will have you nodding your head or it will leave you perplexed, shaking it.

Either way, I encourage you to read it and remember that there is nothing mundane about our daily death to self when Christ is glorified.

I cannot be reminded too much.

Happy 4th of July!

We got back in town last night after a whirlwind fun time with our friends who moved to Maryland last year. This was our first visit to their new home and we had such a sweet time together!

When I say "whirlwind" I truly mean it. I cannot even begin to sum up the activities in one little post.

But, here's a glimpse....

We met Jen from Peace in the Pandemonium! I have enjoyed getting to know her through the blawgs and it was an even greater blessing to talk over the phone and then meet in person. She came to Lea Ann's neighborhood pool and our kids hit it off right away.

I need to update my links to include a couple of wonderful new blogs that I've been reading (for quite a while) to include hers and several others. .

Jen's family? Precious! And get this.....They live in the same little town in Maryland where my Lea Ann lives! Crazy!

That is one whole post in itself.

Over the course of 3 days, we swam, rolled down Lea Ann's enormous backyard hill, ate delicious food prepared for us each day, saw the fireworks on the 4th at our nation's capital, nearly got trampled to death in our nation's capital, made fantastic wonderful memories in our nation's capital, and for the second time....nearly got trampled to death in our nation's capital, slept in on the Saturday after all the trampling, went to an Orioles game, and of course drove in a little D.C. traffic.

I have so many pictures! So many stories! So much hilarity and high jinks!

But I am kinda sleepy and I am still trying to drain the extra testosterone from my son's veins. After spending the afternoon with Jen's boys and then three days with Lea Ann's boys, my guy is convinced there is far too little wrestling in this home.

Oh, to see his little eyes light up when he saw those older boys take hold of each other in a head lock.

Precious.

Here is a sneak peek of our long weekend.

Hill Rolling

Note: Hill rolling after the age of 30 could cause brain hemorrhage and/or bladder rupture. Thank you Jesus that you spared me from both.....this time.

The Boys...my boy, Lea Ann's boys, and Jen's boys

Note: I never asked the boys to flex. Apparently, when a boy sees a camera, there is an inexplicable need to pose. I am learning these things.

On the D.C. Metro headed to the Mall

Note: I should have sat right here in my seat and then several hours later I could have sold it for top dollar when all the crazies tried to board at the exact same time.

At the D.C. Metro Station after the fireworks

Note: This picture does not begin to do justice to the mayhem that was taking place here. There were several moments where I was prepared to go ninja on somebody if they got any closer to my baby. Lucky for them, I held off on the kicking and punching. Too bad I can't say the same for everybody that night. I will write more about this later.

And yes. It smells as bad as it looks.

The Mall

Orioles Game

Note: If you are a "whistler" and you have been honing your skills and waiting to perform your special talent at the next professional baseball game and you just happen to sit right behind a family with a 5-month old baby, could you keep the WHISTLING to a minimum....say 25-50 times per game? Could you deny yourself the pleasure of WHISTLING 500 times in the course of one game??? Could you??? Please?

His first game

More later!

Look Out! dessert

Five Ingredients Or Less.....No Problem!

We call it "Look Out!" If you are not from the south it might sound bizarre but basically this stuff is so good that my girls and I like to holler, "LOOK OUT!!!" when we eat it.

Well. It makes sense around here.

Chris and I have decided that it falls into the top three for best desserts ever. Ever.

I know that is a very substantial claim, so you'll have to be the judge.

Here goes:

2-dozen ice cream sandwiches
2 containers of Cool Whip (12 oz)
Hot Fudge (12 oz) *Chris likes to put caramel topping too
Salted Peanuts (1 cup)

In a 9x13 pan just lay down the first 12 ice cream sandwiches. It will be a tight fit and you will want to cut one of the bars in half to make it work just right. Of course you could make this smaller all together just by using fewer ice cream sandwiches, but why?

Sounds downright foolish to me.

Spoon on a layer of Cool Whip. I go on ahead and use a whole tub even though the recipe only calls for half.

I sometimes walk on the wild side.

Sprinkle with some salted peanuts, then pour almost the entire jar of fudge topping. I had to heat mine up a bit so it would cover the pan.

Lay out the next layer of ice cream sandwiches, then Cool Whip and some more nuts (if you want to) and now drizzle the remaining fudge topping. (I am starting to mutter "Look Out" at this point)

Cover and freeze for at least two hours. If frozen overnight (or longer) you will need to let this sit out on the counter for about twenty minutes before serving it.

Ya'll. I am telling you it is the best.

LOOK OUT!

For more recipes with five ingredients or less, go and check out the other Works-For-Me Wednesday recipes at Rocks In My Dryer.