From Redding Mountain

Snow Storm 2012

2012-01-23T14:04:00.000-08:00

Esther's miniature snow man!

The snow storm gave us a lot of opportunities to enjoy the snow. We also enjoyed some baking and eating. I was snowed in from Sunday until Saturday. Almost a week at home with my family!!

Homemade french bread
Swedish Tea Ring Recipe can be found on a post Sept. 5, 2008.

Christmas Favors for Nursing Home

2011-12-12T18:04:00.000-08:00

Our small church is preparing to sing Christmas Carols at the local nursing home where several of our members work. We wanted to take the patients some little favor. Because of dietary limitations we could not take candy or food items. We decided we could make some little jingle bell pins to pin on each patient. We also decided to make some little flower pins that look a little like Christmas. I thought I would share them here. There are 85 patients!

Clean Water for Elirose

2011-11-30T15:52:00.000-08:00

As many of you know our family has had an interest in providing clean water to impoverished countries for several years now. It all started when our older sons became representatives for Healing Hands International's Walk for Water in Nashville, Tn. and expanded when they shared the need with the rest of the family in Washington State. One of our younger sons spearheaded the effort to start a Walk for Water in Tacoma, Washington. Three wells later, thousands have clean drinking water. It is amazing what happens when people are made aware of the needs of others for basic necessities. The zeal and excitement of children is contagious.

Clean Water for Elirose by Ariah Fine Illustrated by Don Robb.

Finding a picture book which shares this hope and opportunity was exciting for me. It has been my experience that most children are interested in helping others. Sometimes they do not see the need on their own. Sometimes they do not see how they can help. This book will help to make children aware of the needs of others. When they ask "What can I do?" this book will answer with some ideas they can use to make a difference in the life of other children many miles away. In the story I love how one child becomes aware of the inequality of our world and in turn shares that with another. The children were each willing to do something to help provide this well. We see these young children giving up strawberry milkshakes, selling lemonade, and asking others to help so that other children can have the basic necessity of clean drinking water. This story will have adults and children considering how they can help others. In the back of the book there are specific organizations who drill wells to bring the gift of clean drinking water. Proceeds from the sale of this book go to fund new wells. Share this book with the children in your life and give the gift of clean drinking water.

The book's website is http://cleanwaterforelirose.com/ Ariah has set the pricing structure for individual sales of the book to a Pay-What-You-Can model starting at just $3 per book (Free Shipping). Ariah hopes this pricing model will help to spread awareness! The goal for 2011 is to raise enough funds from the proceeds of this book to fund one new well. Watch a brief video introducing the book here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8cBCGTrxEk0

Let me know what you think! Also, share ideas of ways you are teaching your children to share with those in need.

Paper leaf wreath

2011-11-24T00:27:00.000-08:00

This is a picture of a cute wreath the girls and I made for a friend in the nursing home. It is made from scrap booking paper, a piece of lightweight cardboard and glue. We cut out a circle by tracing a bowl (about 8 inches diameter) and then cut a circle out of the middle of that. We covered the circle with brown construction paper. We cut leaves out of different colors. We had 4 different leaf patterns we used. We glued them in layers with the stems inward. We glued a ribbon to the back to hang it with. It really looked cute on her wall. Just had to share it!

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Chocolate Cake

2011-11-16T10:21:00.000-08:00

This is a very easy and quick recipe to make. I love this chocolate cake except for the fact that I eat way too much of it :)

I originally found this on a Hershey's Cocoa package. This is taken from the hersheys.com website.

I made this for a sweet young lady who was visiting one weekend which happened to be her birthday. Her mom requested the recipe this morning. Here it is!!! Enjoy!!!

HERSHEY'S "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" Chocolate Cake
Prep time: 15 Minutes
Skill level: Beginner

Ingredients
• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup milk
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water
• "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING (recipe follows)

Directions

1. 1 Heat oven to 350°F. Grease and flour two 9-inch round baking pans.
2. 2 Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla; beat on medium speed of mixer 2 minutes. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin). Pour batter into prepared pans.
3. 3 Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely.

Frost with "PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING. 10 to 12 servings.

VARIATIONS: ONE-PAN CAKE: Grease and flour 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Heat oven to 350° F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 35 to 40 minutes. Cool completely. Frost.

THREE LAYER CAKE: Grease and flour three 8-inch round baking pans. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pans. Bake 30 to 35 minutes. Cool 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely. Frost.

BUNDT CAKE: Grease and flour 12-cup Bundt pan. Heat oven to 350°F. Pour batter into prepared pan. Bake 50 to 55 minutes. Cool 15 minutes; remove from pan to wire rack. Cool completely. Frost.

CUPCAKES: Line muffin cups (2-1/2 inches in diameter) with paper bake cups. Heat oven to 350°F. Fill cups 2/3 full with batter. Bake 22 to 25 minutes. Cool completely. Frost. About 30 cupcakes.

"PERFECTLY CHOCOLATE" CHOCOLATE FROSTING 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine 2/3 cup HERSHEY'S Cocoa 3 cups powdered sugar 1/3 cup milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract Melt butter. Stir in cocoa. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency. Add small amount additional milk, if needed. Stir in vanilla. About 2 cups frosting.

Once a Month Cooking Recipes + Taffy Bars

2011-11-07T21:14:00.000-08:00

Black Bean Soup

2 Cans black beans Undrained or 1 lb. dry beans cooked according directions *
1 C chicken both (I use 1 C water and 1 bouillon cube)
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 16 oz jar thick and chunky salsa or homemade
4 tsp lime juice
2 t ground cumin
1/4 t crushed red pepper
Toppings:
chopped fresh cilantro
sour cream or plain yogurt

Place 1 can black bean soup with liquid, and broth in a blender, cover blend until smooth. Coat a large saucepan with cooking spray, cook onion and garlic over med-high for 4-5 min. Add blended beans remaining whole beans with their liquid, the salsa, lime , cumin, red pepper, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low. Cover. Cook, stirring occasionally for 25-30 minutes. Top with yogurt and fresh cilantro.

Italian Vegetable Casserole
2-4 C white beans, cooked
1 bag washed fresh or 1 bag 20 oz. frozen spinach
1 clove garlic
1/2 onion chopped
3 carrots shredded
1 C tomato sauce
1C tomato paste
3/4 tsp oregano
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper
3C shredded jack cheese
1C cottage cheese
Parmesan Cheese
Saute garlic, onion, in some oil. Add carrots, and spinach, and cook 3-4 minutes. Stir in tomato sauce, paste and spices. Spread 1/2 beans in glass 9 X 13 casserole. layer 1/2 cottage cheese, 1 C jack cheese, and vegetable mixture. Repeat, and end with last cop of jack. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese. cover dish, freeze. To cook thaw and bake, uncovered 375 for 1 hour. Serves 6 -8

Chicken Curry
 10 servings  
8 c. cooked brown rice 
1/2 c. olive oil 
2 c. chopped onions 
1/2 c. chopped green pepper
 6 c. cooked chicken, chopped
 2 T. flour 
2 T. curry powder  
1½ t. salt
 1 c. water 
1/2 c. lemon juice 
2 c. tomato sauce 
4 cloves garlic, crushed 

Cook onion and green pepper in oil until tender. Add chicken . Sauté briefly. In separate bowl mix flour, curry powder and salt. Slowly stir in water and lemon juice to make paste. Add tomato sauce and garlic and pour mixture over chicken mixture. Mix. To freeze, freeze in ziploc plastic bag. Freeze rice in separate ziploc bag. To serve, thaw. Place rice in casserole dish. Place chicken mixture over top of rice. Heat through on 350°, about 30 min.

Easy Chicken Pot Pie

2-3 cups chopped cooked chicken
20oz. frozen mixed veggies or fresh + I add some onion and potato to mine
2 can cream chicken or mushroom soup or 2 1/2 cups white sauce

Crust
2 cups self rising flour
1 - 1 1/2 cups milk
1 stick margarine melted
2 eggs

Will resemble pancake batter.

Mix the filling ingredients and bag, label and freeze.

Mix the crust ingredients and bag, label and freeze.

To prepare thaw and pour filling into 13 X 9 pan and pour thawed crust mix on the top. Bake 350 for 1 hour or until crust is done and filling hot and bubbly.

Taffy Bars

1 cup shortening

1 cup brown sugar

2 cups all purpose flour

1 egg

Mix together and pat crust into a jelly roll pan. Bake at 350 for 10-15 minutes until lightly

browned. As soon as you remove it from the oven, pour 12 oz. of semi sweet chocolate

chips over the crust. Let it set for a few minutes until soft and spread over crust and

sprinkle with nuts. Cut into squares. I get at least 32 squares. These are rich and you

may wish to cut them smaller.

Cherry Pizza Dessert - Red, White, and Blue

2011-07-04T13:11:00.000-07:00

I found this recipe in the Charleston Gazette back in 1981. I have enjoyed making it for many years. For a cookout today I am making this as well as Blueberry Crunch Pie (part Cherry for Mr. Redding). If you are interested you can find the Blueberry Crunch Pie Recipe in an August 2009 Redding Mountain post.

Cherry Pizza Dessert

Filling ingredients

14 oz. sweetened condensed milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 cup lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla

Mix together until smooth and then refrigerate.

Crust:
1/2 cup margarine
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1/4 cup oats
1/2 cup chopped nuts

Cream margarine and sugar. Mix in flour, oats, and nuts.

Make a thick ball. Spray 12 inch pizza pan or cookie sheet with cooking spray.

Press dough onto pan in 12 inch circle. Form a ridge around edge. Prick with a fork. Bake 10 minutes. Cool.
To put together cherry pizza spoon filling on cooled crust and top with cherry pie filling and sprinkle with nuts. Refrigerate until set and cut and serve.

Sour Dough Starter Recipe

2011-06-30T14:05:00.000-07:00

I love home made bread probably too well! My mind has been turning to home and doing things that my family enjoy. My friend Cindy posted her sour dough bread recipe today and it got me back on the path to bread making.

This is the sour dough starter recipe Hannah and I used today on our way to making sour dough bread regularly! Check it out!

http://whatscookingamerica.net/Bread/SourdoughStarter.htm

Thankfulness

2011-06-16T08:31:00.000-07:00

I was reading a post from Becca on Facebook and it really got my thoughts going in a positive direction.

There are so many good people in this world! People who fill the world with kindness. People who are generous to others in amazing ways. I thought about my parents who set an example of concern for others while I was still young. Their example continues on as they share with their own community to this day. I thought about my in-laws who have lived such a life and continue to live this life of service. Our parents not only share with others but they help others to share as well. I thought about my own kids and the good things they do in their own communities and around the world. Last year our church youth group was given a challenge: 10,000 hours of service in 2010. There were probably only 50 participants in this activity.

Below are "some" of the things in which they participated:

Working at Delano Bay camp to get it ready for the summer.
Feeding the homeless and giving them basic items needed.
Walk 4 Water raising funds to drill a well in Haiti
Worked at the headquarters of Healing Hands International to get things ready for drip irrigation and package items for shipment.
Washing fire trucks.
Building sets and props for VBS
Conducting VBS for a small church.
Yard work for individuals who really needed some help.
Major landscaping project for a retirement community
Serving and singing at a senior center in the Dalles, Oregon
Spending time with some soldiers in a Veterans Home
Washing dishes for a week at a time at church camp
Counseling at church camp, soccer camps, Camp Auburn, etc.
Painting the teen cottage
Relay for Life
Sending cards to sick, shut-ins, etc.
Battered Women's Shelter Christmas project
Fall Festival - advertise, set up, conduct, greet for a community Fall Festival
Bread Ministry - pick up and distribute bread to those who could use it
Men's Breakfast - helped set up and decorate
Volunteer at the public library

These are just "some" of the things. There are so many more. They did surpass their goal!

It made me think of all those people I know in many different parts of the country who help in their own neighborhoods. If I calculated the hours of those who touch my life from all over the USA there would be hundreds of thousands of hours. I know we don't need to keep some kind of tally of all we do or all those around us do for others, but it sure gives me a lift to consider the possibilities. I am thankful for all of you my friends, neighbors, relatives who give so much!

When the world seems so bad just think of all those people who are doing some amazing things in your neighborhood, church, work, contact list and be thankful!

There really are a lot of kind and generous people in this world! These people are blessed as they bless others.

Please share some of the service projects you have been involved in recently.

Backpacking Adventure

2011-03-23T14:37:00.000-07:00

As I slipped on my backpack I wondered how I was going to hike up a mountain in the Olympic Peninsula carrying it. This was my first backpacking trip. My pack was to contain all the food I would need as well as supplies to cook, purify water, and first aid. I was carrying a tent and sleeping bag as well. The pack wasn't the biggest burden I was carrying. I was the oldest member, a chaperone, of an all girl teen/pre-teen group who were more accustomed to having their nails done that hiking. This was a first for most of the group. Before the first mile was behind us we had a few episodes of tears and pain. These were young girls and their packs were too heavy. I knew this was going to be an adventure. Had I known what was in them I would have understood. My three daughters were part of the group. Esther, was only 7 and insisted on carrying her own pack. She was the youngest member of the group and pretty tough being the youngest of 11 children.

The first leg of our journey began with our teen guys group who had done this hike before. We were an aggravation and they wanted to put the first day behind them and get on to the good stuff. We finally managed to get the whole group to the top - it took several hours. There is an elevation gain of 1250 feet and the first camping spots were 3.2 miles up. On top of it all we really slowed the guys down. A few of the guys had made it in half the time we did. One girl made it to the top with the guys. My first daughter Sarah kept up with her brothers and friends.

The girls took their packs off and immediately jumped in the beautiful mountain lake and felt the coldest shocking water they had ever known. They took out HUGE bottles of shampoo and washed their hair. They were a lot happier with clean bodies and freedom from the backpacks. I began to set up camp. The best spots were taken. We had a gorgeous view looking over the mountain lake but it was sloped. We were in the middle of a forest beside a mountain lake. This was definitely one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen. Sleeping on a slope was not my idea of comfort. The girls didn't realize what they were in for that night. We made a fire (before the guys in the next camp, I might add) and cooked our supper. We joined the guys who had a little better camping spot than we did and enjoyed some singing around the fire. We had an encouraging talk about what we had accomplished and what we had overcome that day. We all gladly went to our tents. A couple of girls waited until the guys were asleep and piled rocks in front of their tents and moved their things around a bit as girls are known to do and then slept soundly.

After an adventurous night of sliding about all night, collapsing tents, etc. we made it to morning. The guys barely said good by and were up and out of there to continue their "real" adventures. There were not many people about and we did the wise thing and moved camp to a more level spot actually near the compostable toilets which were a luxury for our group. We ate breakfast and re-set camp and then began our activities of the day. I might add a note about re-setting camp. It was a bit comical to see the girls get on all 4 corners and carry their tents down the trail without taking them down. We found a wonderful spot to place them.

After getting the camp re-set they started surveying the area. None of our group had ever been here. The girls were running around having a great time when I saw two crouched down behind a log. I thought they were about to scare a couple of the girls who were acquiring new skills in the woods. I didn't find out until a few minutes later that they actually had discovered a nude "Russian", they called him, sunbather who thought he was all alone in the forest. After much giggles and girl whistles he departed. He was the last person we saw for that day. The gravity of the responsibility hit me hard. Here I was in the wilderness with a bunch of girls and one nude "Russian". We could see a couple of tents off in the distance but no one else. We decided we had better give a few rules. They could NOT go off alone. They always had to have a buddy and someone needed to know which direction they were going.

The girls wanted to go swimming. The water was ice cold. They decided to follow the stream that dumps into the lake. The stream was full of beautiful rocks and boulders to climb. The boulders made a great spot for sitting in the sun and listening to the clear rushing water make its way downstream and into the lake. There was a neat bridge built of huge logs. Some stayed here while the rest of the group made there way upstream giggling and taking pictures. We had a grand day of adventures which included trying to trap a chipmunk, carving spears, painting themselves with war paint (black marks under the eyes with ashes) and carving spears. We had to make clothes lines and a pulley to lift our food into the air to avoid animals. We were amazed at how much water it takes just to cook and wash our hands and faces. We were using gallons every day. I was building up muscle using the little hand purifier. We all shared in the water purifying adventure and were thankful none of us got sick.

After gathering fire wood we got ready to cook our suppers over the fire. We were actually pretty good at this fire building stuff and we had a nifty propane burner to heat water faster when needed. We finally figured out that it was easier to boil a big pot of water and let everyone have some of it for their instant suppers than to wait for each one to make theirs individually. The favorite food surprise was Bear Creek instant soups and Jiffy pop popcorn to cook over the fire. By this time it was getting dark.

The sky was amazing but the most surprising part for me was the stillness. There were no cell phone, radio, television, automobile or even airplane noises. There was an amazing stillness. And sitting in the dark I felt no fear. I felt less fear than I have in my own home when I am "home alone" which doesn't happen very often.

The next morning a lady ranger came by and visited with us about packing out our trash, etc. We also discovered by this time that the mens toilet is NEVER used so it was very clean and we were happy to make use of it even though most of the girls were excited that they had learned to potty in the woods. We had a few more adventures before we packed up our camp and headed down the mountain. It was so much easier going down and we were happy to find the van and head off for a new adventure. We stopped at a restaurant on the way home and ate an enormous meal. They let us sit in the corner. I'm sure we were a sight to behold.

We all felt stronger and more confident than we had ever felt. I'm excited about the possibility of showing this beautiful spot to others.

Quick and Easy Carrot Cake and Cream Cheese Frosting

2011-02-09T17:37:00.000-08:00

James and I made this cake for a friend's 92 birthday today! We made her a cute little 5 inch round layer cake. It was so cute! I forgot to take a picture though.

This is an amazing cake. It is a short cut to my mom's carrot cake recipe. Read the entire recipe first.

Prepare a Butter Golden Cake Mix as directed on the box except add one extra egg. After mixed add:

8 oz. crushed pineapple with juice
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup coconut
1 cup walnuts

Pour into 3 - 8 inch cake pans greased and floured. Bake 350 until done about 35-40 minutes. You might want to check after about 30 minutes your first time to bake it. Insert tooth pick and see if it is done.

Buttermilk Glaze for Carrot Cake

About 5 minutes before the cakes are done, bring 1 cup sugar, 1/2 teaspoon soda, and
1/2 cup buttermilk, 1 stick margarine to a boil. When you take the cakes from the oven
pour the buttermilk glaze evenly over the layers. Cool in pan and then turn out to cool.
I like to freeze these when they are cool on separate plates. Then I can frost them easier.

Easy Cream Cheese Frosting
Ingredients:
1 stick margarine softened
1 lb. powdered sugar and up to a cup more as needed
8 oz. cream cheese softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
Optional: Sometimes I like to add some orange juice concentrate or flavoring.
Directions:
Beat the margarine and cream cheese until well blended add the powdered sugar a little
at a time until it reaches the right consistency. If you put it all in at once it will go all
over your kitchen. Add the vanilla and/or orange flavoring or juice concentrate. Spread
on cake and refrigerate.
I do not like to transport cakes frosted with this during the summer. Especially if you live in the south. It is wonderful for all your fall celebrations. It is also good as a topping for bundt type cakes and cinnamon rolls.

Looking Beans

2011-01-10T16:18:00.000-08:00

I am often surprised when asked how to cook beans or asked for a recipe to cook beans. Beans have always been a part of my diet. I never knew there was a recipe for cooking beans.

So here goes:

Take a package of beans from your favorite grocery store or buy your dried beans in bulk. There are many kinds of beans and they can be used in so many wonderful ways. My family's favorite are what West Virginians call brown beans. What are brown beans? Pinto beans.

1. First look the beans.
What are you looking for? Many times you will find small rocks or clumps of dirt or debris in the beans. Once you have looked your beans then rinse them.

2. Soak the Beans.
To soak the beans place them in a pan of water. The water should be at least 2-3 inches over the beans. Why? Beans increase in volume as they absorb the water. There are two or three ways you can soak these.

a. place in a covered pot of water overnight (at least 2-3 inches above the level of the beans). In the morning either drain the water and add fresh or use the same water and begin to simmer on the stove top until done.

b. place in a covered pot of water and quick soak them by cooking until boiling for 2-3 minutes and then turning off and covering for one hour. There are two thoughts about what to do next. Drain the water and add fresh or keep the water and simmer on your stove until done. You can tell they are tender by taste or you may want to put one or two in a spoon and blow on it and the skin will split when done.

c. you may place the clean rinsed beans in your crock pot or you may do this step after either of the previous steps. Or you may look, rinse, and then place them in the crock pot on low. I usually do this the night before and they are ready by morning to be seasoned and eaten or used in a recipe. You might want to start them on low in the morning if they are to be eaten for your evening meal.

Most of my life I used one of the first two ways of soaking the beans and cooking beans. In recent years I discovered how easy it cook beans with the use of the crock pot.

Now after your beans are done you may season them. For me this is not an exact science. I tend to add a small amount of cumin, chili powder,onions or onion flakes, sometimes small pieces of chopped green bell pepper, garlic, salt and pepper. Start with small amounts and season to taste. ****Make sure if you are going to use tomatoes in your beans that you do not add them until the beans are completely done.

There. Now you know how I cook beans. Brown beans are one of our favorite meals with corn bread and a slice of onion.
If you have questions about how to cook beans please let me know.

Decorating

2011-01-07T20:03:00.000-08:00

My children and I have been helping an elderly gentleman at church decorate the tables for the men's breakfast. We are on our second year of decorating. I do not believe we took a single picture the first year. He wanted us to take some pictures. He comes up with the ideas and most of the supplies which usually consist of natural ingredients. He uses a lot of fir and pine boughs, pine cones, small pumpkins, nuts, leaves, and a few man made decorations. Since today was our day for decorating and I am sort of trying to keep an online journal this year I thought I would post some pictures. The whole job usually takes less than two hours and the kids do most of the work.

Recent Art Work

2011-01-06T22:24:00.000-08:00

Some recent art work of the children.

Beatrix Potter - Assignment

2011-01-05T18:56:00.000-08:00

I have been giving my children topics to write about. This was one daughter's assignment. I will later add her name when I have gained her permission.

Beatrix Potter

Helen Beatrix Potter was born to Rupert and Helen Potter on July 28, 1866.
Beatrix lived in London with her parents and her brother, Walter, who was born in 1871. Beatrix and her brother spent childhood holidays in rural scotland and north of England where she sketched and kept small animals as pets, including mammals and amphibians, sometimes contributing to their deaths because she failed to see to their needs. This changed as she grew older.

Beatrix was homeschooled, although she did occasionally visit public gardens, markets, and the Victoria and Albert Museum; the world's largest museum of decorative arts and design.
Potter longed to be independent of her parents and wanted higher education possibly seeking mycology as a career, but her parents discouraged it.
Her uncle tried to enroll her at the Royal Botanic at Kew, but they would not accept her on the account that she was a woman.
On her own she studied many things such as spore germination and the life cycles of fungi and was later one of the first people to suggest that lichens were the result of fungi and algae grouping together.
As the result of her suggestion she was then respected widely for being an expert mycologist.
Beatrix also did many watercolors of fungi, around 270 by 1901, which are located in Armitt Library, Ambleside.
She had also drawn illustrations for Joel Chandler Harris's Uncle Remus stories, which probably inspired her in her own work.
In 1901 Beatrix wrote her first tale. The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Mr. McGregor's Garden. She sent her story to several publishers but it was rejected by all for the fact that she didn't have any colored pictures.
She decided to self-publish and made 250 copies with the new name The Tale of Peter Rabbit. She finally attracted the interest of the publisher Fredrick & Co.
by the end of the year 1902 28,000 copies were printed.
In all, Beatrix wrote 23 children's books.

Beatrix followed her book with The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin in 1903.
Beatrix became secretly engaged to the publisher Norman Warne, but her parents disapproved of her marrying a tradesman. Shortly after the engagement Norman died of pernicious anemia.

In 1913 she married William Heelis and she went on to become a sheep breeder.
Beatrix Potter died on December 22, 1943.

The History of Slinky

2011-01-04T16:31:00.000-08:00

Do you know the history of the Slinky?

I am fascinated with how things came to be so I frequently look up weird stuff.

Today, I learned that the Slinky was invented by accident. An inventor, Richard James was trying to invent a device to stabalize navigational instruments aboard Navy boats. Richard James believed that springs were the solution. He tried springs in many different ways and was never able to come up with a way to stabalize the instruments. One day he accidentally knocked a large spring off the shelf and noticed it did not just drop and stop but walked itself down several things on its way to the floor. After work he shared his discovery with his wife. She is the one who saw it's possibility as a toy. She knew he had invented a wonderful toy. The next year they got a $500 loan and produced 400 of these new toys but not a one sold. They then convinced Gimbel's department to let them do a demonstration of the Slinky. All 400 were sold within 90 minutes. Before long they were able to start their own company to produce them. Within a few years they were millionaires. Slinkys have been used as military tools (antennas), gardening tools (to scare crows), and toys. They have even been taken into space.

More slinky trivia:

about 80 feet of wire per slinky
about 10 seconds to make a slinky

Just thought you should know!

My Fortune Cookie

2011-01-03T23:38:00.002-08:00

My children make and buy one another (and sometimes other blessed individuals) strange gifts. For Christmas Sarah bought one of the boys a bag of fortune cookies. You can imagine my surprise, shock, consternation upon reading mine.
Knowing our history of moves you know why.

What do I do with this? Wait and see if it comes true. Pray!

Daily Walk 2011

2011-01-02T17:46:00.003-08:00

This year I have decided to use the Daily Walk Bible for my quiet time. This last year I really had a hard time keeping my focus on staying in the word. I have ALWAYS received a great benefit from much time spent in the word. I am amazed at how timely God's word is to my life and situations. Somehow I let myself be distracted from this way too much in 2010.

In the front of this Bible I found an article. Here are some of the highlights.

Seven Benefits from Reading Your Bible

All seven are taken from Psalm 119.

1. The Bible will help keep you from sin. verse 11

2. The Bible will lift your burdens. verse 28

3. The Bible will guide your steps. verse 105

4. The Bible will bring you joy. verse 111

5. The Bible will lead you to wisdom. verse 130

6. The Bible will give you peace. verse 165

7. The Bible will bring you back to God. verse 176

Reading my Bible also makes me a calmer, happier wife and mother.
Reading my Bible helps me deal more appropriately with the daily trials and temptations which come my way.
Reading my Bible gives me a rich supply to share from with those who need help and hope in this world.

This year I am focusing on the word for myself and the benefit I will receive from spending time with God. Reading the word alone is not enough but it is a start. I need the word daily and I need a closer relationship with God. I am sure this is a need God will honor. I am sure he will help me apply the word and grow from it if I am willing.

Hot Artichoke Spinach "Dip"

2011-01-01T12:24:00.002-08:00

For the New Year's Eve party we attend Sarah made this dip. It turned out really yummy. I really liked the texture and the taste!

Hot Artichoke Spinach "Dip"

1 jar artichoke hearts, drained and chopped with the Pampered Chef food chopper.
1/3 cup grated Romano Cheese
1/4 cup grated fresh Parmesan Cheese
2 Tablespoons chopped onion
10 oz fresh spinach chopped
1/3 cup milk
1/2 cup sour cream
1 cup pepper jack cheese

Preheat the oven 350
Mix the artichoke hearts, Romano Cheese, Parmesan cheese, and onions. Set aside.
In another bowl mix spinach, milk, sour cream, and pepper jack cheese. Stir in the artichoke mixture and spoon into a greased dish. I used a small 8 X 6 rectangle dish. You may use what you wish. Cover with foil.
Place in oven for about 20 minutes. I uncovered after it was heated through and the spinach wilted (about 10 minutes). I topped the finished dish with a little more shredded pepper jack and heated a little more to melt. It may not need any more heat.

We ate ours warm with tortilla chips. I think it would really be good with pita chips.

Birthday Celebrations

2010-12-30T20:15:00.004-08:00

We had the joy this year to celebrate several birthdays with our family while we were in Tennessee. Micah had his 29th birthday, Daniel had his 19 (even though he was in college), John Mark had his 14, and Aunt Sandy celebrated her ?? birthday.

Catch up, Family and Puzzles

2010-12-18T21:05:00.010-08:00

As some of you may have noticed I have been away for awhile. You may have received some funny notices from me as well. Several of my accounts were hacked causing some frustration but not any financial loss. I hope you were not too troubled by these weird messages.

My annual trip back to see our family and friends in the east was extended this year. We have a lot to share as we left home on October 11 and returned home on December 17. Lawrence joined us on our trip this year. He took on a project of building a garage apartment/office and got a lot done although not all of it finished by any means.

We enjoyed being around our families a lot. We haven't enjoyed that much time in many years. We like our family! We attended a family reunion, visited an Uncle and a new aunt in Georgia at an amazing homeplace, played with our grandbabies, shared meals, church services, and outings with our adult kids, Thanksgiving in Tennessee with my parents and my sister, some of my kids and grand kids,( and Becca) saw Isaac in Oklahoma and visited Oklahoma Christian where Daniel is studying for a degree in youth ministry. We were able to squeeze a visit in to WV and got to welcome the first snow there for the season. We spent a lot of time thawing out water pipes and just visiting with our WV family. We were able to get together with a couple of friends too. The weather in WV was an obstacle for sure. We treasure the time we had to spend with our family this year.

I hope to share several pictures and posts about our trip.

I am including several pictures of puzzles we did while we were away. Some of these were finished quickly and others took awhile.
By far the most complicated puzzle I have ever worked on was the car. All ages were able to work on the puzzles. Our 7 month old grandbaby tried to put in a puzzle piece. While the weather is frightful take some time to gather around a zig saw puzzle. If you do not like to put together puzzles maybe you could read aloud while the rest of the group work on a puzzle.

Hummus Making

2010-09-13T13:00:00.003-07:00

I have been making hummus this summer and have tried a couple of recipes. These are tahini free recipes. My children still think I should call Mawmaw Redding for her recipe because hers is always better :)But I know that their Mawmaw rarely uses recipes so I will have to watch in person to see how she does it.

The hummus making all started with VBS and the Mission Trip this summer. We did the Jerusalem Marketplace and tried to have authentic and healthy snacks for the kids. We had a bake shop. Each day the kids got to make unleavened bread and had different spreads to put on it. Most of the kids liked the hummus but most of the adults either wouldn't try it or didn't like it.

Below is the recipe for our favorite so far. If you have a favorite we would love to have it so send it our way.

Roasted Garlic Hummus

1 1/2 cups cooked garbanzo beans
2 tsp. roasted garlic (if you use raw it is a little hotter)
1/2 Tablespoon lemon juice
1 Tablespoon olive oil
1/2 tsp or more of Oregano

In a blender or food processor blend beans, garlice, olive oil, lemon juice, and oregano until smooth or the consistency you like. If it is too thick add 1/2 tsp. olive oil.

Joseph turned 17 on June 1st

2010-06-10T23:46:00.011-07:00

Joseph is 17. I can hardly believe it. He had a nice birthday with friends over to visit and a movie, Alice in Wonderland newly out on DVD that day. He only wanted chocolate ice cream for dessert. Daniel and the older kids took him to Panera for his birthday and then came home for ice cream and a movie. He has really grown up so much in this last year in many ways. He is still doing a lot of jumping and dangerous stuff as usual but he hasn't been injured in a while so that is good news. He has been working really hard to make his money for camp this year. I really appreciate his work ethic too! He never shies away from work. He recently led singing for our youth led service at church and is always willing to lead in prayer. I appreciate his willing spirit and exuberant attitude. He is a lot of fun to be around. (most of the time:) This is going to be an amazing year for him.

Sarah is 15!!!!!

2010-06-08T16:25:00.004-07:00

Sarah turned 15 in May. We had a series of funny little adventures and gifts for her birthday. A trip for a slushy, ear cuffs she had been wanting, new earrings,cake and strawberries, Forza coffee shop visit,friends over to hang out, etc. We had a busy few days before her birthday. She and Hannah sang with Joni and Elizabeth for the Ladies Tea on Saturday and the Walk 4 Water for Haiti on Sunday and then her birthday on Monday!! A few days later our whole family joined the teens for work camp at Delano bay for 3 hard working days and some wonderful times of worship and fellowship at a beautiful place on God's creation. Sarah continues to grow up in her salvation. She continues to amaze me with her spiritual depth and heart for God at such a young age. God bless her with a wonderful year of growth and service to God.

Esther's 7th Birthday May 2, 2010

2010-05-27T13:33:00.004-07:00

Esther turned 7 on May 2. It also happened to be on a Sunday and on Pawpaw and Mawmaw's last day with us before returning to W.V. After church Pawpaw wanted to take us out to eat at Azteca so of course we were thrilled. We had a great time eating, visiting, and celebrating Esther's birthday. She had already chosen her birthday dessert before this so that evening we had to have ice cream sandwiches with candles for her birthday. She is a little treasure to our whole family. She is our youngest as many of you know. She is growing up and a delightful young lady. We do not think she is too spoiled either. She got some new clothes which she was excited about.

Podbean posts

2010-05-06T17:06:00.000-07:00

LTCNW Richland, Washington 2010 Highlights

2010-04-22T21:07:00.005-07:00

I just wanted to share a few moments of an amazing weekend I had with some wonderful leaders of today and tomorrow. This is such an encouraging program and I am thankful my children have the opportunity to participate in it. These photos share some of the highlights from our trip. A couple of song leaders, Joseph and James, 3 choir groups from Lakeview, Bible Readers Theatre, Bible Bowl teams ready to test, our puppet team, Dennis, our Youth and Family minister making announcements, our drama group on stage, and some young ones having fun on a rock. Thanks for sharing our moments and days.

Lawrence and Reda 2009

2010-04-13T14:41:00.003-07:00

LTC Dallas: Highlights from the Lakeview Team

2010-04-05T15:28:00.004-07:00

We had a great time in Dallas at the LTC Airport conference. There were 17 in our group. We left home around 3:30 am on Friday morning and arrived home around 11:00 Sunday evening. What a trip!

This was a huge conference! The picture with all the kids at tables is taken during the Bible Bowl. The kids on stage are two of our singing groups. After the Lakeview awards ceremony we let them swim. We had some surprise visitors on Sunday morning and they were able to join us at Fudruckers (sp.??) for lunch. The choir had to sing for them after lunch!

Craziness of Spring

2010-03-30T19:07:00.003-07:00

Things have been crazy at our house this spring. Most people would think things are always crazy at our house! I just wanted to write a little update.

Lawrence and I are mentors for the LTC (Leadership Training for Christ) program. This is the second year our children have been involved with LTC. LTC requires many hours of the students time as well as the parents. Our children spend hours almost daily studying the Bible. This year the book is II Samuel. My youngest son James has taken the tests all year for the Bible bowl right along with the older students who are really in LTC. The top 12 students from our congregation have been awarded a trip to the conference in Dallas, Texas on April 2. This will be the culmination of their efforts. Our James will be the youngest member of the team. We have 5 children going to Dallas! They have worked really hard.

During Feb. and March we had several 12 hour days at the church building on Sundays. The students study and test on the book of II Samuel. They also participate in Choir, Drama, Puppets, banner making, scrapbooking, Children's book, bulletin boards, service projects, etc. Several work days were held as well as practice sessions. We also had a spaghetti dinner fundraiser which the families cooked and served. The LTC students were auctioned off for their services. The students still had school work, church work, church services 3 times a week, and other study sessions, etc. during the week. There were game nights and praise sessions. We have had a wonderful time! The parents are about ready for a rest. The students are dreaming of other fun times to spend together. The more the better:)

Tomorrow is the final day to get ready for Dallas. We leave for the airport about 4 am Friday morning. We will be joined by the Redding Mountain grandparents in Dallas. They will return with us to Washington for a visit. We are really excited about that.

Happy 80th Birthday Mawmaw

2010-03-07T21:52:00.002-08:00

I tried to post this on Facebook but it is too long. Happy Birthday!! Some things we appreciate and remember about you. Compiled by the family in no particular order. There are not quite 80 but some fun. Everyone can feel free to add their own. Happy Birthday mawmaw we love you!

1.faithfulness to God and family
2.love for birds
3.sitting on your bench watching the sunset
4.riding in the bucket on the tractor with Pawpaw
5.acceptance of others
6.watching her do the jitterbug
7.always up for a challenge
8.cross word puzzles
9.sudoku
10.dominoes
11.scrabble
12. We Care Campaigns
13.love for others
14.teaching the deaf
15. dedication as a teacher - falling asleep at the table grading papers
16.snicker bar lunches
17.Frito Pie
18.special green jello salad
19.apple pan dowdy
20.Mawmaw likes to teach me math because she likes a challenge
21. she is really nice
22. she likes playing chess
23.she is a hard worker
24.good at preventing work
25.she makes good food
26.she has pretty children
27. she is a lot of fun
28.she likes helping others
29.she is patient
30. she is benevolent
31. consistency
32.she always has pumpkin pie
33.crocheted afghans
34.crocheted dish cloths
35. a special blue crocheted hat for a special great grandson
36.chicken foot
37.special arrangements from nature
38.endless efforts to keep the carpet clean while living in the country
39.driving a Bronco up a steep hill
40. hauling water
41.scrubbing the carpet with a toilet brush
42.after retiring from teaching, homeschooling the grandkids
43. and testing the grandkids
44. three bean salad
45.From the Cotton Patch
46.stories of her mama and papa
47.singing silly songs
48.introducing the family to Apple computers
49.when you say thank you she says okay
50.feeding the baby blue birds
51.Maybe in addtion to her silly songs, her silly dancing and rythms/rhymes
52.A good listener
53.Very prim/proper usually, but occasionally turns ridiculous / silly
54.Woodworking / cutting her thumb
55.Appliance repairman, her own
56. Lego closure on the dryer
57.Inventive fixes (before duct tape entered the picture)

Soup, Soup and more soup

2010-03-06T18:43:00.004-08:00

Even though spring is breaking out all over our neighborhood it is still a little cool. My husband asked for soup today. I made the Weight Watchers 0 points soup first and it was really yummy. Then to surprise my Hannah who loves mushrooms I decided to get the ingredients for Chicken and Wild Rice Soup which includes a lot of mushrooms. This was really yummy. I want to remember this recipe so I am including a link for you to try it and keeping a record of it on my blog. The most pricey ingredient was the butternut squash which I do not cook very often. All of the kids remember it from being at Mawmaw's house. This would be a wonderful soup to make after Thanksgiving using the leftover turkey instead of the chicken. Both soups were really wonderful and the kids and adults really liked them. I have been making a new kind of corn bread lately too which they all like. I use fresh ground cornmeal and it is not as coarse as the cornmeal I grew up with.
Check out the recipe and let me know if you try it. I'm including a couple of pictures of our soup. I hope you like it as much as we do.
http://kitchenparade.com/2010/03/chicken-turkey-wild-rice-soup-recipe.php

My 50th Birthday

2010-02-26T20:02:00.002-08:00

Today was my 50th Birthday. I awoke with a very bad headache. Thankfully it left early in the day. I took Daniel to work and then got back home to get everything going for the day. I had a surprise package on the table from Hannah (with a little help from Miss Betty). Flowers, chocolate, more chocolate, balloons, more chocolate, lots of cards, facebook messages, cake, new jewelry, lotions, new dish cloths, a new large tea mug, wool socks, yes and a nice Salmon dinner made the day special. I got to talk with all of my out of town kids, parents, and friends on the phone. It was a nice day. I wanted to share a couple of pictures from Grossi's in Tacoma where I had a very nice lunch with some special lady friends. One of the pictures is where we are all sharing a single slice of lemon cake our hostess brought us. The other picture is of the special cake the girls made for me from scratch all while I was away having lunch. I had a very nice day!

Old Fashioned Hot Cocoa

2010-02-22T18:23:00.003-08:00

Do you have memories of your mom or grandmother making old fashioned hot cocoa? Stirring the pot on the stove top? I grew up with this kind of hot cocoa. This was before the day of individual packages in the little cardboard box or at least my world didn't include such. Today I had an overwhelmed young mom over for a visit. She has two little ones 14 months and 3 weeks. She shared the endless story of laundry, lack of sleep, dad not helping enough:), etc. I listened. She asked if I had hot chocolate. I told her I didn't but I could make some old fashioned hot cocoa. I am almost certain she had never heard of it. She asked how I would do that so I told her. She ended up leaving before I got it made but one of my dear sons who loves chocolate asked if we could still make some. So I made some and it hit the spot. My children have grown up with it but I am frequently surprised at the things which are so commonplace in our family and such a surprise to others.

Here is the recipe I used for old fashioned hot cocoa.

1 cup sugar
1/2 cup cocoa
dash of salt
2/3 cup hot water
8 cups of milk
vanilla or almond flavoring added after making.

I combine the first four ingredients and bring to a boil over medium heat. Then I add the milk and heat until hot though not boiling. Then we turn off the heat and add the flavoring and enjoy. This is very rich and chocolatey. Whipped topping would be a great addition even though I didn't have any this time.

If you have a hot chocolate memory please be sure and share it!

Play Dough Pictionary

2010-02-17T18:15:00.006-08:00

Last Wednesday evening in our Bible class we played Play Dough Pictionary. Our Bible lesson was on death. This was a very hard concept for the kids to grasp. The words they had to shape and try to get their team members to guess were: acorn, corn kernel, bear, and caterpillar. The kids had so much fun playing it and wanted to keep their play dough. I had not planned for that. This week I made some for them to keep. I made three different colored batches: purple, blue, and orange. The colors were not what I expected. I then molded them into hearts for each student. In a previous post on Monday, November 05, 2007 I shared a recipe for homemade play dough. You will find it by searching the blog for that date or homemade play dough. The ingredients are simple and it is very easy to make so check it out! You can use different shapes for different occasions:Valentines, Easter, Birthday favors, favors for small children at baby showers, etc.

3 Things I Appreciate About My Parents

2010-02-12T16:02:00.003-08:00

Three Things I Appreciate About My Parents
I recently asked some people to share with me the things they appreciated about their parents and these are some of the responses I received. Some were written to me personally. Thanks to everyone who shared!! I thought you all might like to read them as well.

L.W.
My family created a place to belong.
My church family was a place to belong, the friends I made were a community for me.
I appreciated my parents tolerance of cats, dogs and lots of stops to explore on vacations and trips.

E.K.
My parents know what they believe and they believe it firmly but still in my own lifetime I have seen them grow so much in intellect and faith. This has been important to me in the intellect of my dad and his faith.
Moms vigilance in keeping the family healthy with good food, books instead of TV, encouraging our imaginations. Her philosophy is that strong minds are made from being elastic and able to grow, not necessarily through book learning although that was important.

M.R.
Freedom to think
Freedom to explore and try things out
Exposure to rich environments and interesting people

E.H.R.
One thing that I really stands out to me about your parenting is that you all never tell anyone they can't do anything, no matter how "ridiculous" it might be. If one of the kids wants to start a magazine or say they want to walk on the moon, you all never discourage that. Even though realistically many of the things they want to do don't happen. It seems to have given them a feeling of confidence that I don't think many kids have. And it causes them to think differently from most people. :)

J.A.K.
They didn't exercise parental authority arbitrarily.
They played with me, read to me, and did not pass me off to TV.
They spoke to me like an adult instead of talking over me like a kid.
I think the most important thing about them is that they love God and that love influences every bit of their lives.

R.F.
Teaching me the ways of the Lord.
Instilling honesty and truth in my life.
To forgive others just as Christ forgives us.

S.T.
They took us to church as a family and instilled the importance of our faith.
Taught me to be honest and kind to everyone!
I had wonderful loving parents and I hope I have turned out like them.

J.M.R.
To a great degree I think the really important parenting happens at
the ages where, looking back now, we don't even really remember it.
You know, everything pre-10-or-12 or so. That's the stuff that really
sticks and becomes the foundation of how a person sees the world. I
think the most important thing up until then is probably just creating
a reassuring / loving environment for a kid to learn and grow in on
their own -- even if there's some kind of discipline going on, it has
to be an overarching realization in the kid's mind that they're
valuable and loved. And I think that was true in the case of all of us
as kids.

S.K.
My parents gave me.....
Habit of regular attendance
Work ethic
Commitment to marriage
What I hope I've given to my children.
Security in the love of God and their parents.
Hunger for knowledge, wisdom, education and the integrity to act
I hope a commitment to family
Sense of humor
Love of the Reds

D.R.
My parents raised thinkers independent of worldly peer pressure. That isn't such an easy
thing to do or to deal with.

P.L.
Insisting on participation in family events, birthdays, holidays
Being financially responsible by paying for my own car and insurance

R.C.
Open communication
Honesty
Support

S.B.
They always told me they loved me, no matter what I had done.
They never argued in from of my brother and I but went downstairs to talk and work things out
Their home was always open for anyone to come and hang out while I was living there. From youth group to singles and even now today.

E.J.B.R.
A general statement about my parents and their parenting skills: Even though we were poor, I was seldom aware of it and I was always secure with a feeling of belonging. There was little outward affection shown, but I knew that I was loved and did not have to worry about being taken care of.
Some positive characteristics of their parenting:

1. It was understood that God's way was the pattern that our family would strive to follow. Whatever was perceived as being right before God was the first consideration in everything we did.
            a. It took away much of the burden of making choices.
            b. Our parents' determination to do right made it easier for us tell others whether we were allowed or not to participate in their activities.
            c. We never thought about whether we were going to gather with other Christians on meeting days. It was a given.
            d. Their consistent striving to do right helped to create a feeling of security.

2. Besides our spiritual foundation, we were very much aware of a good education. It was a necessity to be well educated, and so there was an emphasis on studying and doing well in school. We were given opportunities to experience many things in the world around us that most of our peers did not experience. You could say we went on a lot of field trips because our parents were interested in history, in nature, and in innovative developments around us.

3. We were provided with opportunities to work, to contribute to the welfare of the family, to learn the value of things that we wanted by earning money to purchase them. We saw our parents work hard to support us and to help other people and so we learned to appreciate that those things that were provided for us came out of a labor of love, but nonetheless, a labor that was often very hard.

4. Our parents spent much time in helping the communities in which they lived. Even as poor as we were we shared with those who were in need. School children that my parents served often needed such things as shoes. I never felt cheated that my father gave things to other people. I believe that I learned to be compassionate through those experiences.

5. We had fun. Our parents provided opportunities for us to have fun along with themselves, other family members and neighboring families. We often got together with others to sing or simply visit, but we children were a part of everything that went on. If the grownups had some special project going on the children were allowed to have their own activities. Board games, hide and go seek, croquet, ball, or just simply chasing each other. We had a lot of freedom because we had room to be active without disturbing anyone.

I realize I have listed 4 things, but I could keep going. I also realize that what I have written may not be considered parenting skills, but I think they actually are. There was the matter of discipline (punishment) that was not always appropriate. It was too harsh at times, but the best discipline was attained in the 4 items I listed above. There was training going on even in the fun times. We were family and we were getting along with other people, adjusting to their differences and sharing
our selves with them. Social skills developed out of the need to get along and have fun.

R.R.
Things my parents did right.
1. My mother took me to church no matter how tired she was from working long days.
2. My mother let me talk to my hearts content. I'm sure she would have liked some down time for herself after work but she certainly did not get it. My sister and I would run to meet her at the car and walk her in sharing all the details of our day.
3. My parents taught me to work hard. This gave me a confidence that I could not have gotten any other way. This also gave me opportunities to serve the body. My mother took me on Bible studies, door knocking, working bus ministry, youth rallies and work shops. She helped me produce the church bulletin and took me to church camps.
4. My parents worked hard to take care of my physical needs and they took care of the needs of others as well.
They are the most generous people I have ever met. Not only to family but to others as well.

Unnamed class member
I really appreciated the boundaries that my parents had as well as our community had.

G.R.
I think my parents did a great job in raising me.

Vintage Fashion Show

2010-01-30T17:20:00.008-08:00

This is afternoon Hannah, Esther and I attended a free vintage fashion show put on by our local libray. The Friends of the Library booked the Golden Oldies Guild (a group of ladies who volunteer for Goodwill and do this to raise money). They were wonderful! We had a very fun and educational time. I was really sorry Sarah missed out. She was in bed with a headache

Valentine Cookies

2010-01-27T16:16:00.002-08:00

Homemade Marshmallows by Hannah

2010-01-23T20:41:00.004-08:00

Hannah decided she wanted to make homemade marshmallows. I have never made them or known anyone to make them.
They do taste like marshmallows but the texture is a little off. I'm not sure what went wrong or if she will try them again. It was a very interesting project though. She cut them out with cookie cutters and coated them with powdered sugar and sprinkles. Here is the recipe.

Combine 2 cups granulated sugar, three envelopes unflavored gelatin, and 1/8 teaspoon salt in a saucepan. Add 2 cups of water. Stir over medium-low heat until sugar dissolves. Heat for 3 minutes more, remove from stove, and stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla.

Pour mixture into large mixing bowl, tie back hair, then use an electric mixer to beat at high speed for 10 minutes or until mixture looks like thick marshmallow creme. Pour into buttered 13X9 pan. Let cool. Heat cookie cutter and/or scissors in hot water to cut the marshmallows with. Put powdered sugar in a ziploc and add marshmallows and shake to coat. Do a few at a time.

I have included a picture of the marshmallows and a picture of Esther and her project. Esther went and got into the hair bows and clipped them all over her head and made it look like a hat. She has a lot of fun around here and keeps us smiling.

The Natural Method Readers A Primer - Hope Chest List- Old Newspaper Clipping

2010-01-14T13:50:00.002-08:00

I like old books and of course new books too. It is really wonderful to hold an old book and wonder about its previous owners, where this book has been etc. Very often I will find inscriptions on the inside cover or notes left in a book. This time I found a very small newspaper clipping with a complete list for a hope chest. It was intriguing to me. If you know the origin or date please let me know. The book is copyrighted 1914.

A complete list for a hope chest follows: Half dozen to a dozen sheets, half dozen to a dozen pillow cases, one dozen wash cloths, one dozen bath towels, one dozen linen face towels, four linen table cloths, three luncheon cloths, one dozen dinner napkins, one dozen lunch towels, three counterpanes, four bureau scarfs, quilt and blankets, doilies, tray covers, pictures, vases, books, silver, ornaments, and several good cookbooks.

I hope you enjoy my little find for the day!!

Scottish Oat Cakes

2010-01-13T10:20:00.004-08:00

This is a recipe I have used several times to encourage my family to eat oatmeal. I usually buy oatmeal in bulk and several of
us are happy to eat a bowl of oats some are not:). I find it very filling. I have a few (husband included) who do not like hot oats. So we make this recipe. I add nuts (whatever is on hand) this time it was cashews. Sometimes I add almonds or walnuts. I also added raisins this time because I had them on hand. I add a touch of cinnamon as well. I use the lower amounts of oil and sugar. I serve this for breakfast with hot tea or milk. The leftovers are great for snacks or to carry along on errands in place of granola bars. This is not a fancy recipe just a very quick, economical, and practical way to do oats. Let me know if you try it.

Scottish Oat Cakes

5 cups of oatmeal

1 cup of flour

1/2-1 cup brown sugar (depending on your sweet tooth)

1 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking soda

1/2-1 cup butter or lard (use smaller amount for a fat-reduced diet) I use all vegetable oil

1/2-1 cup water

Stir first 6 ingredients until crumbly. Sprinkle water over and work mixture with hands until a ball forms. Press into a buttered cake pan until mixture is 1/2-1" thick. bake in a 325 degree oven until golden brown. Slice into generous-sized rectangles.

I press this into a jelly roll pan for a thinner oat cake or my broiler pan (without lid) for a slightly thicker cake.

Decorating Graham Cracker Houses

2009-12-19T15:32:00.004-08:00

For many years we have decorated graham cracker houses and many of my children look forward to this tradition.
On Tuesday afternoon we invited some moms with younger children to come over and decorate graham cracker houses. We had a great time and it was fun having little ones around for my older ones and me to enjoy. We brought a couple of tables into the dining living area from other parts of the house and covered them with red plastic table cloths. This made the clean up so easy. We assembled the houses that morning and let them dry and then mixed up butter cream frosting to paste their candies on with. Each family brought something to add to the houses. We had a good mixture. Fruit leather, skittles, new flavors of m and m's, marshmallows, chocolate chips, teddy grahams, licorice, gum drops, candy canes, etc. We also made trees with the sugar cones turned upside down and frosted with green.

We also made some non sweet snacks to share. Hannah's egg salad sandwiches were a hit. We had peanut butter & jelly sandwiches, whale crackers, and teddy grahams. It was a warm day so most did not want hot tea to drink and had juice instead. We had a nice time visiting with the moms and children.

Pictoral Highlights from our Tennessee Visit

2009-11-29T00:36:00.008-08:00

We had a great time visiting our family in Tennessee!! We enjoyed being at Grandmothers and Papa Jim's house, raking leaves, playing in the leaves with the grandbabies,visiting Papa Jim's garden, helping plant the winter garden, seeing the Parthenon, seeing Nashville from Love Circle, playing in the park, visiting the adult kids, playing dominoes with grandmother, Aunt Sandy, and cousin Jake. And we can't forget grandmother courageously taking the kids shopping. Girls one day and boys another! That takes courage!

Our WV visit

2009-11-22T22:11:00.006-08:00

A few pictoral highlights of our recent trip to WV. Spending time with Mawmaw and Pawpaw was a treasure. Evening Bible reading, meals shared, playing dominoes, etc. Visiting with WV friends at the Library, sharing a luncheon with homeschool friends and playtime with lots of smiles. Seeing the old and treasured friends at church is always good. The leaves hung on long enough for us to enjoy them. A nice peaceful time.

Andalusian Christmas Soup

2009-10-30T15:17:00.003-07:00

I received this in Seattle in the early 80's. I was recently telling someone about this recipe and then came across my original recipe while in WV. I hope you like it as much as I do! This works well for vegetarians as well as meat eaters.

Andalusian Christmas Soup

The south of Spain is the home of this inexpensive make-ahead soup. When served with condiments that include meats like miniature meatballs and sausage,fresh vegetables, and substantial garnishes, it makes a full meal especially well suited to informal entertaining.

The soup base is a blend of tomato puree, chicken broth, herbs and lots of sweet, slow cooked onions. Serve it hot in a soup tureen or casserole, surrounded by choice of condiments.

2 Tablespoons butter or margarine
1 Tablespoon olive oil
4 cups thinly sliced onions
3 Tablespoons flour
1 can (1 lb.) tomato puree
2 quarts chicken broth
1 clove garlic, minced or mashed
1 Tablespoon each red wine vinegar, Worchestershire
1/4 teaspoon each pepper, oregano, tarragon leaves and liquid hot pepper seasoning
1/2 teaspoon cumin seed crushed

Condiments (suggestions below)

In a 4 or 5 quart pan, over medium low heat, melt the butter; add the olive oil and onions. Slowly cook the onions stirring occasionally, until they are limp and slightly golden; it takes about 45 minutes.

Sprinkle flour over onions and blend; gradually stir in tomato puree and broth. Add the garlic and vinegar, Worcestershire,pepper,oregano,tarragon,hot pepper seasoninng,and cumin; stir until well blended. Bring to boiling over high heat, reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Condiments:

Meats (choose 2 or 3)

About 30 meatballs: combine 1/2 lb. lean ground beef; 1 Tablespoon chopped green onions; 1/4 teaspoon salt; and 1/8 teaspoon each ground cumin, crushed oregano leaves, and pepper; form into bite sized balls and bake in a shallow pan in a 500 degree oven for 5 minutes.

About 10 ounces linguica, chorizo, or kielbasa sausages: slice about 1/4 inch thick and in a dry frying pan over medium heat, turn until browned.

1/4 to 1/3 pound tiny cooked shelled shrimp

About 3/4 pound cooked ham: cut into 1/2 inch cubes and saute in 2 Tablespoons butter until slightly browned.

Fresh Vegetables: (choose 3 or 4)
About 1 cup cubed red or green bell pepper or a mixture of the two
About 1 cup diced peeled cucumber
About 1 cup diced fresh tomato
About 1 cup diced sweet onion
1/2 pound fresh mushrooms: sliced and sauted in 2 Tablespoons butter
1/2 pound fresh carrots: slice and cook in a small amount of water until fork tender, drain.

Garnishes (choose 3 or 4)
3 or 4 hard cooked boiled eggs, coarsely chopped
1 to 1 1/2 cups sour cream
1/4 pound grated cheddar cheese, shredded
2 or 3 small limes cut into wedges
1 small can garbanzos drained
1 small can sliced ripe olives, drained
About 1/2 cup chopped parsley

Revisiting Burien, Washington

2009-09-25T20:03:00.007-07:00

We stopped on our way through Burien to see where we used to live. The picture of the side of the house:) where the boys used to have a tree house 20+ years ago. Also, a park near the library that we played in a lot and even cleaned up just to be good citizens. Sometimes we found a homeless person's sleeping quarters. Those were good times! And so are these:)

Family Encampment Pictoral Highlights 2009

2009-09-16T19:36:00.004-07:00

We had a great time at the family encampment. There were group encounters. We were divided into 4 teams to work on encounters and crazy games. Ever wondered how many people can stand inside a hula hoop? We even had our Lakeview version of Idol:) We had evening praise sessions and devotionals usually around a fire by the water. Unfortunately, we had a big rainstorm on Sunday morning and had to have our worship time in the lodge. It was wonderful but I missed having it outside. It was a nice 4 day break from routines if we ever have those:) It was really nice to have my husband off for the long weekend. He had a great time and did a wonderful rendition of I Saw Her Standing There:) at the Lakeview Idol Show. We stayed in the 1920's cottage at the water's edge. The weekend was great except having to retrieve runaways who were raiding the camp kitchen at 2am.

Girl's Retreat 2009

2009-09-08T11:14:00.009-07:00

What a wonderful time we all had at the retreat. Our focus this year was committing to God and Purity. These are some picture highlights from the retreat I mentioned in an earlier post. I must add a comment about the picture of me. The girls brought me out and washed and massaged my feet, hands, back, etc. They were so sweet and appreciative of our weekend. They made me cry.

A Summer of Fun, Growth, and Life Experiences

2009-09-01T10:53:00.002-07:00

Our life has been so full this summer. We went from the busyness of LTC (Leadership Training for Christ) which ended in April - to so many other activities. We did the Teen Retreat - Work Camp and helped the camp get ready for the summer season. Then the Walk for Water (Healing Hands International). The Redding Brother's band here for several days!

These kids have really worked. I'm amazed at the teens I have been spending time with. (Not just my own). Are they getting nicer or are my eyes a little bit more focused on seeing the good? I hope both. I hope we are all growing to be more what God would have us be. Seeking first to understand each other and then to be understood. June started the summer camp season. White water rafting, canoe trips, 3 of my kids away in one week. A few Joseph injuries. Wow. and more. Daniel graduated and moved to Tennessee. More kids heading out to camp. We spent several days getting ready for the summer Teen Mission trip in the Dalles, Oregon/Dallesport, Washington. That week was an amazing week. We returned to our home and got ready to do VBS at our local church a few days later.

Teen Girl's Retreat - What an amazing 3 days. We had lessons on Committing to God and Purity, encounter group activities to teach us lessons, crafts - homemade lip balm, scrapbooking our Wisdom Journals, food spas, making bracelets for "Our" stories, prayer groups, praise sessions and a late night baptism in the bay. (our Hannah). It was so nice to have just the girls for a while and they were delightful. The girls surprised me and gave me a foot bath and massage. They made me cry. The 20+ year old young marrieds bonded as they shared insights with the teen girl's as did the older mom's who participated in this retreat. We learned we are all in this together. (I may share some recipes, etc. another day). It was a treasured time together and they asked to do it again:)

Two of the boys went on a 5 day Backpacking Trip somewhere into the hills and mountain lakes where they saw a black bear, chased mountain goats away from their camp, swam in cold mountain lakes, had praise sessions under the stars, and lessons on leadership. They carried all the food and supplies they would need on their backs. I'm sure they were so tired of Cliff Bars, Ramen noodles, trail mix and beef jerky. They wore the same clothes for 5 days! It's a good thing it was all guys. What a great experience for my young men!

This weekend we will go as a family to the Church Family Retreat at Delano Bay. This is an annual retreat and on Sunday we will have services outside near the Pacific Ocean. I am so happy my husband has a 4 day weekend. We have a waterfront cabin for our family. It is built in the 1920's so it is not so fancy but a wonderful place to be.

I have learned so much these last few months as have my children. Things have been going fairly smoothly - surrounded by God's people, works of service, etc. The biggest thing for me has probably been to watch out for Satan for when I least expect it he is there to trip me up. I will never outgrow the need to stay in the word, spending lots of time with God. He will keep me strong and equip me for his work of being a Godly wife and training sons and daughters for him.

We are about ready to start our schooling back again next week so I am sure there will be more to tell some other day.

Blueberry Crunch Pie Recipe

2009-08-27T19:24:00.002-07:00

I thought surely I had posted this on my blog before but I could not find it.
I got this recipe 29 years ago at a church pot luck at the Adamsville Church of Christ, right before I got married. I have made this for many family and church gatherings ever since. Let me know if you make it!

Blueberry Crunch Pie
Ingredients:
1 1/3 cup self rising flour
1 cup nuts
1 stick margarine softened
11 oz cream cheese
1/2 lb. powdered sugar
1 can blueberry pie filling or homemade
Whipped topping
Nuts to garnish

Layer 1 — Combine flour, nuts and margarine. Press into 13x9 pan, bake until
lightly browned about 15 minutes at 350° F or until lightly browned. Let cool.
Layer 2 — Combine cream cheese and powdered sugar. Spread on cooled crust.
Layer 3 — Spread 1 can blueberry pie filling evenly over layer 2
Layer 4 — Spread with whipped topping
Layer 5 — Sprinkle with nuts.

A Quote for Mothers

2009-08-18T19:42:00.002-07:00

"If mothers could learn to do for themselves what they do for their children when these are overdone, we should have happier households. Let the mother go out to play! If she would have the courage to let everything go when life becomes too tense, and just take a day, or half a day, out in the fields, or with a favourite book, or in a picture gallery looking long and well at just two or three pictures, or in bed, without the children, life would go on far more happily for both children and parents. The mother would then be able to hold herself in "wise passiveness’ and would not fret her children by continual interference even of hand or eye - she would let them be."

Charlotte Mason

Now if I could learn to play and take time relax maybe I would be a better mother:)

I already know how to work.

At the End of Gabriel's Journey

2009-08-17T10:55:00.004-07:00

It was an exciting day and one of great relief for me as Gabriel came to the end of his Bike Journey. I'm sure there will be other adventures in the future:) Most of our family drove out to meet Gabriel and take him lunch. Marilyn, a friend from church and Joseph rode in the last 30 or so miles with him. John Mark and Hannah also rode a few miles on the bike path. I was a little too nervous when we got to city traffic. Then they rode again along the water front at Alki Beach to the final destination. Several friends and family were there to greet him when he arrived at Alki Beach more than 3000 miles from where he started 43 days before.

It was nice to have Gabriel home even though it was only one day! He is now safely back in Tennessee. If you haven't followed his video blog then you might want to see some incredible sights along the way. Check it out at GabrielRedding.com Follow the link to MSBike and then the video blog. It was pretty amazing!

I love lavender!

2009-07-19T15:09:00.002-07:00

These are a few pictures of lavender sprigs from last year's plants. A new edible lavender plant brought to me by a friend and a potted lavender plant. Last year I planted 8 plants- most were gifts from friends who knew of my love of lavender. Only one was potted and it actually did better than the others. So I plan to pot my new munstad lavender plant and see how it does.

Taking James to Camp at Delano Bay

2009-07-06T18:37:00.006-07:00

Yesterday afternoon I headed back to Delano Bay Christian Camp for my second trip in less than 24 hours. We spent Saturday July 4th at the camp for the 30th Anniversary Celebration. We stayed until 11 pm for the fireworks. It was a beautiful day. James got a blue ribbon for decorating his bike. The next morning was a little hard to get up for church but we did:) After church one of James Bible class teachers convinced me to let James go to camp. Lawrence and I talked and called James in and told him to pack his bags if he wanted to go to camp. He was more surprised than at Christmas and hugged us and thanked us and ran off to pack. It has been many years since I have had one this young spend any time away from home. James will be 10 in October. It was a little hard to leave him but he was doing great. I did not see many kids that he knew but he wanted to be there. He will have a great week and I will probably be ok too. The house seemed so empty without him here today even though we had 4 extra visitors. No one can take his place:) You can send him an email with the subject line James Redding to

campergram@centurytel.net

He will get email through Friday of this week.

The trip home took a long time. It took almost an hour to go 6 miles. The holiday traffic was returning home and there is a toll booth to cross the bridge which caused the traffic to back up. After I paid toll the trip went much faster. My next trip will be easier for several reasons. I will have James with me and he will have a lot of stories to share............ I hope they will be good ones.

The pictures are of the camp and a view of the water from the camp. And of course the lines of traffic.

Going to the Dentist

2009-07-05T20:59:00.003-07:00

Every 6 months I go through having our teeth cleaned. This last week I took Daniel and James on Monday and then Sarah, Hannah and Esther on Thursday. On the 14 I will have the other two done. When we drove up to the beautiful building where our dentist has his office Esther surprised us by saying, "I love this place". She was thrilled to be having her teeth cleaned. She really likes riding the elevator that is clear too. We were all so very tickled and tried not to show it. Anyway I just had to take her picture.

We have a new week ahead. I am sure it will hold much. Daniel leaves home, James is at church camp for the first time, etc. Life keeps on happening......... Have a great one.

Goose Eggs and Esther

2009-06-30T10:56:00.005-07:00

I know after the wonderful pictures and exciting things I post on here you might be surprised to find a post about eggs:) We have a new friend who stopped by and left us some goose eggs. Esther and her dad love to eat eggs for breakfast so she could not wait on dad to be home to have duck(we found out it was goose) eggs. It only took one to feed a hungry girl. You can see in the picture the goose egg beside the large white eggs I bought from the store. We use a lot of eggs for baking and cooking and occasionally for breakfast. I buy 5 dozen at a time. Duck (we found out they were goose) eggs are a first for us though. Most of the kids were unwilling to try it. They all wanted to help cook it though. Esther was quite impressed with the egg.

Hiking at Mt. Rainier - Memorable Tuesday

2009-06-23T18:54:00.008-07:00

Last Tuesday we went hiking at Mt. Rainier. These are some of the sights. You might also notice the kids gathering pine cones to ambush some other teens in our group:) We had a great day and met some really nice people. We got to know each other a lot better too. One of the nice workers gave me my own piece of the Jackson Visitor Center (the circular building is an old picture of the center:)they were tearing down:(

I tend to get overly worried when we are in potentially dangerous situations. I handled all of the craziness until the end and then I started to get a little worried about all of the escapades and started to caution everyone and pull them away from the edges of cliffs. We returned from Mt. Rainier and enjoyed a weiner roast with our hike leader Marilyn. She is a wonderful hostess. This was a very memorable Tuesday.

Return Trip to the British Pantry

2009-06-19T14:57:00.005-07:00

The picture is taken in front of the British Pantry in Redmond, Washington.

I got to go on another outing to the British Pantry store and restaurant. I had three other friends who had gone before and we enjoyed a nice ride up. The trip is about an hour and a half from home. We shopped in the store and got ready to have our lunch. Just as we were to sit down I got a call that Joseph was hurt at work. He had gotten hit in the eye with a rock while edging. He wasn't wearing protective eyewear. My knees went weak and I finally got a hold of myself. I found out Lawrence was also too far away to get there quickly. I wasn't driving either. We called our dear friend Betty who went to pick up Joseph and take him to the doctor. The doctor had our info on file and had seen Joseph for his many other injuries he has gotten doing bike tricks, jumping walls and so forth. They called and verified permission to treat and soon called me to tell me there would be no permanent damage to his eye. He had a red eye and a headache by the time I reached him but seemed well.

Back to the pantry.........I knew I could not get to him so I prayed and we finished our lunch which was wonderful. I am sure I was not much fun and my cell phone kept ringing with needs for information and updates on Joseph. We headed home and I finally made my way to my son with great relief. Whew! What a day. This was the same day we had the glass museum outing. Hard to believe one day can hold so many adventures and situations............

More About the Museum of Glass

2009-06-19T14:33:00.005-07:00

Here are more pictures from our trip to the Museum of Glass. We waited in line for our time to go in and watch as they made glass. We sat in "theater" seats for about an hour and watched as one artist made a piece of art. They did an amazing job. This is a job for people who like slow, meticulous, detailed work. Progress is slow from my perspective. They were all so calm and collected. They moved slowly about. You might be able to tell from my tone that I would never be very good at this. You have to sit and wait until just the right time to shape, or heat or do some other little thing just to turn around and wait again. It was fascinating to watch but I would never want to do this. Also, they work so near the furnaces so it has to be a hot job. You have to love creating glass to do this. I am so glad we went and I would love to go again. I hope you enjoyed the pictures from our trip and check out the Museum of Glass in person or online. Have a great day TODAY!

The Museum of Glass Tacoma, Washington

2009-06-19T14:10:00.005-07:00

Yesterday we joined two other families to attend the Glass Museum. Every month they have a free evening from 5-8pm. We drove downtown Tacoma and parked at the free parking garage and took the free train to the museum. (If you can't tell by now I like free:) The train actually stops in front of several museums. This day we were only there to see the Glass Museum. This was our first trip and really fun and amazing. I have so many pictures it will take two days to show and tell about the trip.

The cone shaped building is the museum. The wonder actually begins when you cross the bridge heading toward the museum. There are two columns with chunks of colored glass to greet you and then you walk across the bridge.
The roof of the bridge contains all kinds of beautiful glass as well as walls with glass pieces. There are also several fountains around the museum with glass birds and other wonderful things. There are some tubes with water running down them too. And all of that before we got into the main museum. The kids had a great time!

You can check out the museum online by going to www.museumofglass.org. You will have to paste this into your window as I am just learning how to make clickable links and still haven't gotten the hang of it. I did get the one fixed about Gabriel's bike trip. I know several tried it and had trouble. At the museum website they have actual live glass making on video as it is happening. It was quite amazing and I will show some more pictures later.

Remember to enjoy today because it is what you do have to work with!

Now That is a To Do List

2009-06-17T11:49:00.002-07:00

I drove up to Pierce College last week for Daniel to take his test for graduation. In the car next to me I saw this sight. I just had to take a picture. Now that is a To Do List or one forgetful person. I just had to laugh.

Gabriel rides across America

2009-06-15T21:44:00.006-07:00

Gabriel rides across America.......yes I said rides not drives..........amazing to think about. It is pretty hard to drive across America.

Why don't they ever choose small goals???:)

In about two weeks Gabriel will leave Virginia Beach, Va and begin a cross country bike trip to raise funds for MS. The ride is 3204.3 miles! He will be going an average of 75 miles per day, at a speed of about 10 miles an hour. His goal is to raise $10,000! He has been training for this for months. I'm amazed and proud of him for attempting such a huge thing. I'm still a little worried about this even though it is a wonderful thing to do. I really believe he will make it to his goal. I guess it is a mommy thing to have a little bit of worry. Someone has to do the job I guess:) I will be praying too! He will be keeping a text journal of his trip on gabrielredding.com so some of you may want to follow him on there. I'm sure I will! He does have a pilot car along with him on this trip so I will be checking in with them during the next month as he bikes across America.

Thanks to all of you who have made donations already. If you would like to make a donation you click on the link below and follow that.

http://main.nationalmssociety.org/site/TR/ThirdPartyevent/WVTGeneralEvents?px=5435763&pg=personal&fr_id=12243

When Gabriel was out here for Walk 4 Water we drove by and took a picture of the little house where he was born. It is near the airport. The other picture is of Gabriel getting ready for his bike trip.

I'm sure there will be more to say later!

Below is a little note Gabriel sent and I wanted to include in this post.

So why am I doing this?
Aside from the sheer thrill of the adventure, and the risk of the unknown, just to be able to do something like this when you know that there are 400,000 Americans who suffer from a debilitating disease that can prevent them from even walking. This ones for them!

Thanks so much!

-Gabriel

Just Because She Looks So Cute

2009-06-12T07:50:00.004-07:00

This is my baby and she is growing up fast!! I just had to post this picture. She was admiring the dress ups at a friends house. The dress is hers. The hat is wonderful on Esther. I'm hoping to buy this at the church rummage sale this weekend.

Dinosaurs, Dinosaurs.........

2009-06-11T08:08:00.005-07:00

This dinosaur is at a McDonalds in Puyallup, Washington (176th and Meredian). We were in the drive thru and could not read the name of the artist so we used our digital camera and zoomed in. He has very intriguing work. There are several of his pieces in the area and I would love to go to his studio which is really not very far from home. I have passed it several times in the last year and not stopped.

You can find out about the man who created this by going to http://www.danielklennert.com/bio.htm

Paramount Theater Seattle Washington

2009-06-08T16:18:00.007-07:00

This was an amazing experience and yet it was so hard to get any focused pictures in this place.
The Paramount built in the 1920's still houses it's original Mighty Worlitzer Organ built in 1928, I believe. See the picture. The sound was great and all without electrical parts or amplification. There was also a player ? piano which was original and on loan to the theater.
The Paramount is the 4th busiest theater in the states and maybe the world. It has over 400 shows annually. Seats 3000.
We arrived for our free show. A "silent" movie, The Pawnshop starring Charlie Chaplin shown while the beautiful organ played.
I was amazed at the attention the young audience gave. They were really interested in this piece of history. I was pleased with my children's behavior.
After the movie we were divided into groups and taken on a grand tour of the theater complete with dressing rooms, green room, trap doors, stages, etc.

The outside of the building sure does not hint at the beauty contained inside. This was a wonderful field trip for my children and for me. We also enjoyed sharing the experience with the West Seattle group too!

Family Picture 2009

2009-06-06T09:29:00.004-07:00

After yesterday's post some asked for the Family Photo 2009. Of course, I like the children's picture best. Here is the family one.....

Church Directory Pictures 2009

2009-06-05T22:59:00.005-07:00

We recently had our pictures made for the church directory. The bad part was trying to get everyone clean and dressed decently. I thought I was long passed this but I was in for a surprise. We were scheduled for 8:30 pm because of Lawrence's work schedule.
I started early trying to get everyone to shower and get dressed. I usually have to double check the 6 and 9 year olds. I got James all clean and ready which is an accomplishment in itself and when I was not looking he went out to play and jump on the trampoline. By this time he was hot and sweaty again. Also, he has gone through a big growth spurt and has almost nothing left to wear and to make matters worse it is hard to find anything that will fit him now. Then the older boys did not want to wear nice shirts, they thought t-shirts with logos on them were appropriate, the girls couldn't find a thing they were happy with and on and on the story went. By this time I was frustrated and Lawrence was not even home yet. He got in just before 8 and took a shower and off we hurried. We got to the building just in time and had to wait a while............. I thought you might want to see what the kids look like after all that. What a pain...........no wonder families do not want to do this more often. At least mine.

Joseph is 16!

2009-06-05T06:30:00.004-07:00

As you can see Joseph is full of life! Joseph has some new trick to try every day. He loves studying bikes and working on bikes and doing stunts with them. Usually bicycles even though he likes Daniel's motorcycle a little bit too. He usually has some new injury to show every day from his adventures! As you can see he and Jonathan are greatly absorbed in a bike magazine he received as a gift.
This year Joseph wants to go camp in Washington so he wanted his birthday gifts to go for that so we didn't do a big celebration even though it kind of gets big fast when you get the Fitz clan together with ours. We couldn't let the day pass without a little celebration though. He wanted to eat pizza and he wanted chocolatey brownies and chocolate ice cream for dessert. He wanted to watch a movie. It really gets difficult trying to find a decent one. We ended up watching Indiana Jones.

Sarah's 14th Birthday

2009-06-04T16:43:00.004-07:00

For Sarah's 14 Birthday she wanted to have a fire and make smores and sing. We had a very impromtu party and everyone had a great time. We thought we would sing around the fire, jump on the trampoline and make smores and have ice cream. She didn't want a cake so no pictures with candles:) We had a great time with the fire until the rain came and we all had to go indoors. The singing was amazing and I think it was because we were so close in our house. After the singing some of the kids went out and jumped on the trampoline in the rain and they thought this was soooooooo much fun. I haven't gotten the pictures from "the photographer" yet. These are some the family helped take on her birthday.

Walk 4 Water Pictures

2009-06-01T19:57:00.003-07:00

Photos by Joanna Fitzsimmons

Some pictures from the Walk 4 Water and the concert that followed. What a great day we had! We are planning for next year already.

An interesting garden near our house

2009-05-30T21:14:00.004-07:00

This is on a street near our house. Very interesting. The rumor is that the owner hand made this garden. There used to be a Panda in the circle where the flames are, some vandals painted it yellow and then pink and then broke it with what appears to be a baseball bat. I thought this was so sad that someone would do this. I thought this was interesting and just wanted to share this with you all. Sometime I hope to stop and meet this neighbor.

Vashon Island, Cascadia Marine Trail, and Redding Beach

2009-05-29T14:00:00.009-07:00

We have had a great last 10 days around here. Having the older boys here was a real treat. A couple of days ago we visited Vashon Island and played on the beach we used to take the older boys to when they were little. They erected large drifted logs-a flashback to Ryan's time with us. There were some interesting sea creatures to look at and touch and get hurt with. It was a beautiful day and not too hot even though it was sunny. When we left the lighthouse park we went to play at Lisabuella Park which is a camping site for those who travel on the Cascadia Marine Trail. Then we searched out Redding Beach Road. We were unimpressed with the beach even though the name was great! The kids had a great time with their new club "The Shed Syndicate" which enriches the world by pulling staples out of telephone poles and stop sign poles. They got quite a bit of attention when they were doing this. We made our usual stop at Zoomies for ice cream and we know Pawpaw and Mawmaw would love this ice cream! We stopped at the original site of Seattle's Best Coffee. We saw a coffee plant too! We saw some great views of Mt.Rainier and had a wonderful day! We got back in time for Wednesday evening services at Lakeview.

Memorial Day in Seattle

2009-05-28T22:28:00.006-07:00

On Memorial Day we drove to Seattle to be with friends. The trip up was full of singing and laughter. It was a fun time of fellowship, singing oldies, playing volleyball, and eating.

Beautiful Spring

2009-05-20T13:25:00.003-07:00

Some pictures taken in my yard and neighborhood. It is a beautiful spring in Spanaway even though it is only 56 right now:)
All but one of my lavender plants came back this year. The rose bushes are looking great and several of my herbs survived the winter. The kids helped pot some plants to decorate for the Men's Breakfast at church and they gave me one of them. They had a lot of fun and enjoyed working with the plants. They learned a few things too.

Mother's Day

2009-05-12T08:48:00.003-07:00

I had a nice Mother's Day. Of course getting to spend time with my kids always makes a special day. I took a picture of most of the expressions of love they showered me with. We had a nice sunny spring day. We went to church together and there was such a crowd that we had to get out extra seats. We then came home to eat. I declined fighting the restaurant crowds. I talked with all my kids and my mom and just had a nice peaceful day. Lawrence had talked with his mom on Saturday. I had a little time to do something creative which I have really been wanting to do. I might share some of that another time.

Tacoma Walk 4 Water

2009-05-05T19:22:00.006-07:00

On May 23rd I will be walking in the first annual Tacoma Walk 4 Water at the Lakeview church of Christ. I will be walking to raise funds to help provide clean water for people in developing countries. Please support me as I try to raise funds to provide better sources of water to those in need. Our group is trying to raise enough for at least one well which is about $3000-$3500. You will find an amazing video at www.hhi.org. I cannot watch it without crying. There are two different videos. One has little children singing and the other one features our older boys who are the spokes band this year for W4W.

Our teens have taken on the project of coordinating the first Tacoma Walk 4 Water in connection with their LTC extreme service challenge 2009-2010. If any blog readers would like to support this great cause you may go to www.hhi.org and click on walk4water and you can look at the list of walkers to choose someone to sponsor. Several of my children will be walking. If anyone would like to sponsor them they would be thrilled. I do not mind if you sponsor me either. Four of the children have already received some donations/pledges. Any size donation can be made through the W4W website and is very much appreciated. You can send donations to us or Healing Hands International if you wish and it will be warmly received!

Thanks for reading my little commercial.

Esther is 6 Years Old!

2009-05-05T18:08:00.005-07:00

On May 2 my baby turned 6. She is growing up so fast. It has been so fun to watch her learn new things and see the joy she expresses at every turn. She had a strawberry birthday. Strawberry cake, strawberry ice cream, strawberries to dip in chocolate. Hot pink is her favorite color so we had a bright pink table cloth to go with the strawberry things. She wanted fish sticks and tater tots for her birthday meal. She had apples and bananas to dip in caramel and chocolate. Vegetable tray to add at least a little something healthy in there. She had several girls over to play from church and the neighborhood and a couple of friends stayed all night before the party. We hid a box of little things for the girls to have a treasure hunt. A very simple birthday but lots of fun. I wanted to share a few every day pictures of our little Esther. I will try to post her birthday pictures another time! Maybe:) Thanks for sharing my tears and joys with me and my family.

Easy Pecan Pie for Daddy's Birthday!!

2009-04-20T20:28:00.002-07:00

My husband will celebrate his birthday tomorrow. Those who wish to bomb his email box may email him at mr.redding@gmail.com

Because his birthday is on Wed. and we hardly have time with church and all we had his birthday dinner this evening. I wanted him to come home to a neat and orderly and happy family. We caught up on some of our house work which had been neglected with our trips these last two weeks. We made a pot roast, brussel sprouts, organic carrots, buttered red potatoes, and fresh strawberries. Sarah and John Mark made pecan pies for dad. We topped it with Breyers vanilla ice cream.

He had time to relax and even went on a bike ride with James around the neighborhood. I want to go when my hand heals. We have had a nice evening.

The pecan pie recipe is so easy. Since my hand is injured the kids had to make them. I bought refrigerated pie crust in the roll. The crust was really good and so much better than the frozen ones.

The kids unrolled it into the pie pans and then mixed up the recipe and baked it. Preheat the oven 350 for 5 minutes.

Easy Pecan Pie
1 cup light corn syrup we used Karo
3 eggs
1 cup sugar
2 Tablespoons melted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups pecans (we actually used chopped because of price)
1 deep dish pie crust

Stir in the first 5 ingredients then mix in the pecans and pour into pie crust. Bake at 350 oven for 55-60 minutes. 8 servings each pie. We placed our pie pans on a Pampered Chef cookie sheet to help prevent the bottom from over cooking. They came out perfect.

LTC Phoenix

2009-04-15T06:02:00.005-07:00

What a whirlwind we have been living through! It has been such a busy time for us. I left on Friday with 5 of my children and 11 others from church for a weekend in Arizona. Most of the kids in our group had never flown so that was very exciting. The Leadership Training for Christ started Friday afternoon. We left home somewhere between 4:30-4:45 am. We got into Phoenix, got our bags, rental cars, drove to Chandler, AZ where the conference was held at the Crowne Plaza San Marcos. It was a beautiful place. We registered right away and then got ready for the opening ceremony and our first performance. Sarah could hardly hold her head up in the opening ceremony, she kept falling asleep on our luggage.

From the time we registered on Friday until Sunday after church it was one event after another. There was art displays, bulletin boards, banners, music, puppets, live action drama, scrap books, Bible Reading, speeches, song leading for guys and girls, poetry, radio ads, etc. The Bible Bowl was the big event. There were also many preconference events. There were so many nice kids and such an amazing array of gifts and opportunities to use those gifts for God's glory.

Our teams did very well and learned so much during the conference. They also had a very wonderful time. The place we stayed was beautiful with trees and birds and wide walkways to meander through. Aunt Yvonne was able to join us too so that was especially a treat.

All five of our children received gold medals for their Bible bowl scores. Sarah received special recognition for having the second highest score. There was one perfect score out of 285 children and 4 who only missed one. Sarah and another young lady from our congregation were among those. Their singing group got the top honor of performing for the Celebration Event. They were thrilled.

I have renewed hope for the future after spending this weekend with a wonderful group of young people so focused in a great direction! I did not once think of the economy the whole weekend. I am grateful to the family who introduced LTC to our congregation and gave our children the opportunity to participate!!

Chocolate Cherry Pudding Cake - Lower Fat Version

2009-04-04T18:49:00.005-07:00

1 Cake Mix Chocolate - I used Pillbury Devil's Food
1 can Wilderness No Sugar Added Cherry Pie Filling
1-2 eggs

1 sugar free/fat free Jello instant pudding mix prepared with non fat milk.

I mix the dry cake mix with the Pie filling and 1-2 eggs to help hold it together. An egg or two makes it softer. I also tried it without the egg and it is not as soft and tender but was still very good. This cooks much faster than a regular cake. I bake it in a 13X9 pan sprayed with cooking spray. Check after about 15 minutes to see if it is done. When it comes out poke holes in it and mix up the instant sugar free/fat free pudding and pour over the cake. I stick it in the fridge or freezer to cool quickly. You can add a spoon of lite topping such as cool whip or your favorite store brand.

If you are on Weight Watchers the whole cake has about 55 pts. depending on whether you use the eggs or not.

I really wanted something rich and chocolately without compromising my diet too much! It was very satisfying for me. It may not be a company dessert but my family really liked it.

Spaghetti Dinner and Showcase Was a Success

2009-03-30T19:47:00.003-07:00

Yesterday was a wonderful day as we gathered with fellow believers for a wonderful day together. We had our morning assemblies and Bible Classes. We had snow so we wondered if we would have a small crowd. After morning service we had a wonderful spaghetti dinner and had to set up more tables and chairs. In the afternoon our LTC kids did their showcase. The Puppets went first, then the drama and then the choir. There was a silent auction for baskets provided by each family who has a child in LTC. There was amazing variety. A spa basket, Pampered Chef basket, Everything Purple Basket with a purple sand pail full of chocolate chip cookie bars, chocolate lovers basket, Cookies and Milk Club with cookies delivered once a month for a year, a complete home cooked dinner, Coffee lovers basket with a watch and coffee and mugs, Handy Man's tote, A pie of the month club, a super man basket, a Care Bear basket with several bears and movies, and a wonderful chocolate candy basket which was put together with candy bars, and I am sure I missed a few of the creative ideas that were there..The kids did a great job. The kids were also auctioned for summer work around the house, yard, baby sitting, pet sitting, cooking, sewing, car washing, photo shoots, etc. We have an amazing group of kids! We are surrounded by supportive, generous people. The whole day raised over $6700. Amazing!

Leadership Training for Christ

2009-03-26T14:26:00.003-07:00

My children have been involved for the last 3 months with a program at church called Leadership Training for Christ. They have spent hours studying for a Bible Bowl. They had several quizzes (one each week) and then a final test of 100 questions. They also have group projects, drama, choir, art, puppets, etc. There are so many facets to this program. This is a new program for our congregation so we are just learning about it. After the final test the top 12 test scores have the opportunity to go to Phoenix, Arizona for a conference which I believe is a national or regional conference. This has been a really busy time for our family and fitting all the study time in as well as practices for all the categories. I am happy to say that all five of my children who are part of LTC will get to make the Phoenix trip. The LTC group is studying the book of John this year. As a Christian mom this has been a real encouragement to me. Seeing my children spending hours studying and catching them reading their Bibles sometimes into the night. They also are frequently seen carrying their Bibles with them to all sorts of places with the hope of finding a few minutes to read. I absolutely love this!! Start almost any verse in the book of John and they will finish it. They have worked very hard.

The week after the Phoenix trip is the time for the regional conference in Washington state which is about 4 hours from us. The whole LTC team not just the top 12 are hoping to go to this conference. It gets pricey when you add fuel, motels, food, conference cost, etc.

This Sunday after church we are having a spaghetti dinner fundraiser to hopefully get our funding for the local conference. They have invited the whole congregation as well as neighbors to come. They are hoping to feed the Sunday after church crowd who usually go to restaurants. They will showcase their projects, serve lunch, sing, drama, puppets and a mini Bible bowl children versus the adults. The kids have also offered to be auctioned for yard work, baby sitting, etc. this summer. This is apart from church and yet we have several members who have been a great support to the kids. Several adults have worked alongside the kids and some have even taken the test. Most did not do as well as the kids:)

So if you are in the area please join us this Sunday afternoon for spaghetti and entertainment and help encourage the kids. You will not be disappointed.

Puerto Rican Sofrito Beans With Rice

2009-03-24T21:10:00.002-07:00

I found it!!!!!!!

I had a major panic this last week when I realized I was about down to my last Sofrito in the freezer and to make matters worse my recipe had totally disappeared. I searched everywhere I could think of in my house. I called several friends that I share recipes with to see if I had given it to them - no one had it! Tonight I found it~ I am so happy! I cleaned out a whole lot of things in my search so I guess it can be a blessing to lose some things:)

This is a very flavorful dish and served over rice is so satisfying. It is also very economical. I originally found this recipe in a
.99 or less cookbook. This made a wonderful once a month cooking recipe too!

1 green bell pepper, cut into quarters
1 small onion, cut in half
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
3 Tablespoons olive oil, divided
1 Tablespoon minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, divided
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground red pepper
2 medium tomatoes, chopped or canned chopped tomatoes
1 can tomato sauce 8 ounces
2 cups cooked black beans drained or 1 -15 oz. can
2 cups cooked red beans drained or 1 -15 oz. can

Place bell pepper, onion, cilantro in food processor until finely chopped.
Heat 2 Tablespoons oil in large skillet.
Add bell pepper mixture, garlic, 1/2 teaspoon salt, cumin and ground red pepper; cook 5 minutes.
Stir in tomatoes and tomato sauce; cook 5 minutes.
Stir in beans and cook 5 minutes.
At this point you may freeze or refrigerate if you are not planning to eat it immediately. Or continue to simmer 20 minutes or so until done.

Serve over rice.

I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as we do!

Easy Parmesan Chicken

2009-03-17T19:42:00.002-07:00

Yesterday I posted about cooking for Impact Northwest this last weekend. On the menu was also Parmesan Chicken which is so easy to make. I was also asked for this recipe. So here it is!

You will need 4 ingredients for this recipe.

1. Chicken strips or breasts ( I like the strips for this recipe because they cook so fast.)Make sure your chicken breasts or strips are thawed if they have been frozen. You need about 3 strips per person.

2. Parmesan

3. Italian bread crumbs or homemade bread crumbs mixed with italian seasoning. They are so easy to make yourself.

4. Melt a stick of margarine or butter

Combine the parmesan and bread crumbs in equal parts. I start with about 1 cup of each. I really do not measure. I do a little at a time because they start to get clumpy.

Dip the chicken strips in the melted margarine and roll in the bread crumbs/parmesan mixture then place on baking sheet oiled or with parchment paper or I spray my pan with cooking spray. Bake at 350 for 13-15 minutes or until done.

These are wonderful! I cooked at least 30 lbs. of these. We had caesar salad, home baked bread sticks, roasted potatoes (which I was not pleased with), parmesan chicken, and chocolate sheet cake.

The Best Chocolate Cake and in 15 minutes!

2009-03-16T16:50:00.003-07:00

This past weekend our congregation hosted the Church Enrichment Seminar and our youth hosted Impact for the Teens. I cooked lunch for the Impact group. For dessert I made Chocolate Sheet cake which I think is yummy and fast and always well received! I have been asked to share the recipe so I thought I would put it on my blog. Chances are you will have all the ingredients right in your cabinet. I used to make this for every singing we hosted at our house. I called it the 15 minute cake because it is so quick.

2 cups all purpose flour
2 cups white sugar
1 cup butter or margarine divided
1 cup water
1/2 cup shortening
1/2 cup Hershey's cocoa unsweetened
1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk that has been soured)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
6 Tablespoons milk
4 cups powder sugar

Mix flour and white sugar and set aside.

In small saucepan boil 1/2 cup margarine, 1/2 cup shortening, 1 cup water, and 4 Tablespoons cocoa.

Pour cocoa mixture over flour and sugar mixture. Stir in buttermilk, eggs, baking soda, and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla. Mix well and pour into a greased jelly roll pan.

Bake in preheated oven 350-400 degrees oven for 15 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

Frosting - 5 minutes before cake is done bring to boil 1/2 cup margarine, 6 Tablespoons of milk, and 4 Tablespoons of cocoa. Remove from heat and immediately stir in 4 cups powdered sugar, vanilla, and beat or stir until smooth. Immediately pour frosting over cake. Sprinkle with nuts. Enjoy warm or cooled. The frosting tastes like chocolate fudge. This is a very yummy cake and it is very hard to eat just one piece.

Let me know if you have questions about it or if it is new to you and you try it out!

Planting Pansies

2009-03-06T09:34:00.004-08:00

On Tuesday we cleaned out the front flower bed. I took several kids to buy some pansies to plant. My kids study Botany on Tuesday and some friends joined us. It was a beautiful day and we had lots of fun. One of the younger boys took these pictures. If they survive and we haven't planted too soon I will try to show pictures later of their growth. We also planted some in 6 lb. cans left over from once a month cooking. Most of my herbs have survived the winter and I look forward to seeing their growth this year.

Mt. Rainier Snow Trip

2009-03-04T16:14:00.009-08:00

On Saturday our whole family went on the Annual Snow Trip to Mt. Rainier. There was about 40 of us. There were 2 vans, the cheese wagon ( a small bus), and a couple of cars. We got to see the new visitor center which was a nice and cozy respite. They have a restaurant, gift shop, ranger stations, exhibits about the history and a video to tell the story of Mt. Rainier and of course restrooms!

It was a lot of fun. My kids even wore their shoes - I didn't ask about the underwear though, Wow! I finally got to snow shoe even though there are no pictures, I have witnesses. We all had a great time.

We had our kitchen set up on the parking lot and shielded on 3 sides by vehicles to keep us sheltered a little. Marilyn was an expert in providing a hot lunch away from home. We had chili and hot dogs complete with onions and cheese. Cookies, brownies, carrots, and peas. We also had the traditional hot Tang and hot chocolate, and hot tea to drink. Mrs. Betty treated us to Coke from Mexico with no high fructose corn syrup. It is sweetened with pure cane sugar. Interesting.

It was a beautiful day. Next time I hope to actually go on the tubes.

The photos are compliments of Joanna Fitzsimmons. Thanks Joanna! My camera disappeared with the kids and took no pictures:( They were too busy having fun in the snow:)

Celebrating my 49th Birthday.

2009-03-03T21:38:00.005-08:00

Last week I celebrated my 49th birthday. I awoke to a glorious sight and unexpected for sure. My trees were snow covered! My husband was on call in the evening which meant we got to spend much of the morning together. My favorite kind of day. Lawrence and the kids made my cake funny by putting 50 - 1 on it. I received so many cards this year! Some were funny, some were beautiful, and all were kind and appreciated. It made my day so special and really made me want to do better about sending cards to others. I had calls from my family and friends. I also had two special ladies from church take me out for lunch and sweet gifts. I am so blessed!

Locks of Love Day for the Redding Ladies

2009-02-19T09:35:00.005-08:00

On one Memorable Tuesday (see Memorable Tuesdays on Facebook) we went to Great Clips and gave our hair to Locks of Love.

Five of our children are participating in LTC (Leadership Training for Christ). One of the areas is service. Sarah decided she wanted to do this for one of her service projects. So all four of us gave our hair to Locks of Love. They divided the hair into two sections and cut them above the band. Each ponytail must be 10 inches below the band. I believe Sarah's was 14 inches and Hannah's 12 inches, I believe mine and Esther's lock were only 11 -12 inches. Mine was so thick they made it into 3 ponytails. So there was close to 50 inches of hair cut that day from the Redding Ladies.

We did get dad's permission first or so we thought. He knew all the girls were getting a hair cut but missed that I was going to get a hair cut too! I felt really bad about that and will make sure before I do that again:) He was kind and thoughtful about the matter though which made me feel even worse.

If you do not know about Locks of Love they make hair pieces for children up to 18 years old who are cancer patients or burn patients and have lost their hair. I think it is a wonderful group. I am going to try to put a link on my blog. So check them out.

British Pantry and Three Lions Pub

2009-02-11T10:47:00.006-08:00

Yesterday I went to the British Pantry and The Three Lions Pub for lunch and shopping. This was a wonderful trip. Six ladies from church met and rode together to Redmond, Washington to go have this British experience. What made it so wonderful was enjoying the day with these ladies. The organizer of this party is a sweet lady from England and she was so excited about all the things she found in this store. She usually makes this trip once a year. She showed us all the great things and we all made our purchases. Then we sat down to a wonderful lunch and several pots of tea and a great time together. On our trip home it was snowing a lot but we made it just fine. What a wonderful memory for me.

100 Servings of Baked Ziti/Penne for Once a Month Cooking

2009-02-07T19:55:00.003-08:00

Today I made Baked Ziti (I actually used penne) for the freezer. We didn't finish it when we did our last cook day so I decided to do it today. Lawrence had a continuing ed class this morning until noon, the kids were in a contest for the cleanest room award and I started cooking.

I had several very small purple onions quartered, bunches of small green onions chopped, small beautiful zucchini cut in rounds and quartered, mushrooms, and some red sweet bell peppers chopped which I sauteed in a couple of skillets. I had several pounds of italian sausage and ground beef browned. I cooked 12 pounds of penne pasta and rinsed it quickly to stop the cooking process. I used a huge HUGE pot to mix it all in. I actually used two huge crab pots to mix it in. I made a vegetarian batch and a meat batch. I added one huge 6 lb can of tomatoes cubed. I added 12 lbs. of tomato sauce and italian seasoning and 2-3 cups sliced chopped black olives. After I got it all mixed veggies, pasta, sauce, and one big batch with meat I divided it into 10 huge lasagna pans. I then top them with mozzarella and sprinkle with parmesan. We had this for our late lunch when Lawrence returned and it was wonderful! A couple of the ladies I cook with had it for supper too! The rest went in the freezers (yes I said freezers I now have two).

A more normal size recipe is below. It will make 3 (13 X 9) pans.

3 lbs.penne pasta
1 lb. ground beef or sausage (optional)
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green or red bell pepper
1 small zucchini cut in small rounds and quartered
1 cup mushrooms
1/2 cup sliced black olives
6 cups tomato sauce with italian seasonings or commercial spaghetti sauce.
2 cups chopped canned tomatoes
3 + cups of mozzarella
3/4 cup of parmesan

Cook the pasta until barely tender and drain well and rinse with cold water. Brown the meat and drain. Add veggies and saute until softened. Mix the meat, veggies, 6 cups tomato sauce with italian seasonings added and meat if desired. Spread pasta in 3 - 9X13 inch baking pans. Sprinkle mozzarella cheese over the top to cover and then sprinkle parmesan over the top. Cover and seal with foil and freeze or bake.

If you would rather you could freeze the pasta mix in gallon size bags and attach the bag with the cheese to it and thaw and pour in your pan, top with cheese when you get ready to bake it. This would take up a little less freezer space.

This was a very simple meal to make. Let me know if you try it. We loved it and will make it in future once a month cooking days I am sure.

Drum Roll Please.................... The Cleanest Room Award Goes to...................

Dad was the judge when he returned. The girls won the cleanest room award even though John Mark and James were very close. Everyone did a good job and things look a lot better around here. My room came in last:( Lawrence brought chocolate for the winners and a little bit of chocolate for all the kids who worked - none for me though:) Maybe if I do a better job next time I'll get chocolate too!

Easy Bread Baking

2009-02-06T11:19:00.004-08:00

I have found a wonderful recipe for easy bread baking. I found the article on Mother Earth News Website. It has a great article about making bread. It is so easy you do not even have to write the recipe down. Also, the authors have written a book called Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day. I have ordered it from my library. If it is as good as I think it is I will order from Amazon.

6 cups of warm water 100-110 degrees
3 Tablespoons salt
3 Tablespoons yeast
13 cups flour (I use a mixture of fresh ground wheat and white)

The cool thing is that you mix it up and let it rise and then punch down and refrigerate in a covered container. When you get ready to bake bread you slice or pull off a chunk and shape it with floured hands and let it rise on baking stone or sheet for about 40 minutes and then bake it. The original recipe called for a pan of water in the oven while you bake it. I tried that which produces a chewy crust which I love. My husband also liked it best. The children however, liked the version without the water which produces a little softer crust. Either way it is yummy bread and very easy to do. Also, there is no kneading. So, remember 6 -3-3-13 and you've got great bread where ever you are. Enjoy! and let me know your results.

Carnivorous Plants - venus flytrap

2009-01-13T19:46:00.005-08:00

Today we studied carnivorous plants in our botany class. I had each of the children draw a picture of a Venus Flytrap. It was very interesting. We also found You tube videos to go with each of the four most common carnivorous plants we talked about.
The pictures were drawn by my 5,9,10,12,13, and 15 year olds.

The Keepers Club Watercolor Class

2009-01-08T21:42:00.005-08:00

Today the girls had a water color class. You can see the sweet lady who gave the girls some instruction. You can see the finished pictures. If you look closely you can see one unhappy young lady who was very discouraged with her painting technique.

The Redding Family Polar Bear Club -2009

2009-01-02T09:03:00.006-08:00

The first meeting of the Redding Family Polar Bear Club took place on New Year's Day at 8:40 pm. Somewhere in Tacoma, Washington.

Since I tend to be on the cold side of things the children had to wait for dad to come home from work and take them. He got a few pictures to remember the event. Esther, Hannah, and I stayed home where it was nice and warm.

Sarah was the first one in the water. She just needed an adventure in her 13 year old life.

Oh the things kids will do and dads will let them do!!

New Years Eve Party

2009-01-01T21:33:00.008-08:00

We were invited to a place in the country for New Year's Eve. (Friends from church). We enjoyed visiting and hearing some pilot stories from days gone by. Some even got to see a plane under construction. We played Wii, a hug game, keep the balloon in the air, wrote good fortunes for the new year and hid them around the house, built lego racers, and ate way tooooooo much food! It was a fun evening and we had a safe ride home. I enjoyed getting to go to bed. Staying up all night is not near as much fun as when I was a child:)

New Baby

2008-12-27T20:48:00.004-08:00

Yesterday I spent the day laboring with a couple expecting their first baby. It was a long day for the mom and dad but it ended with smiles as they welcomed their new baby into the world. I was privileged to be there.

My husband used to tell me it was harder on him and now I understand even better what he meant.

And more snow.............It just keeps coming down!

2008-12-22T21:05:00.006-08:00

We have been hit with snow and it keeps coming down. It has sure messed up air travel as well as last minute shopping. Thousands are reported to be stranded at the airport. The most important one to me is Isaac waiting in California.

Everywhere we go the parking lots are an amazing mess of ice and snow. We slid several times in the parking lots today when we did venture out. Thankfully we did not hit any cars. The main roads are good even though we saw several wrecks and there was one fatality. I found a store I had not found before Family School Supply. I am very excited about this. They carry Vision Forum books, rent great educational and family videos, and have a lot of wonderful stuff:)

The kids continued their igloo building and have a great mountain several feet high in the middle of our culdesac. So far everyone has been friendly about the mountain. It is large enough to sled off now. They have spent hours shoveling snow and playing in it. It is a great thing for boy energy. I was surprised how much the girls got involved. Despite the cold our house has been nice and warm.

Snow - the view out my window

2008-12-18T10:35:00.004-08:00

We have had several days of snow this week. This is the view from my front window. The kids have had fun playing and are now building an igloo, I think. It has been really cold so I have limited their time out. The older ones are still doing school and Lawrence still goes to work.

Isaac is with us and does not like the cold. He and Pawpaw like it even warmer than I do. Sometimes we need some fresh air to breathe:) though. I like seeing the snow but not really being in it. Our house is nice and cozy. If only it were cleaner!

Well I must get busy! More later.

Happy 80th Birthday Pawpaw

2008-12-14T17:28:00.004-08:00

We had our plans for Pawpaw's 80th birthday and they all got changed. It was beyond our control.

This morning we woke up to snow. Pawpaw was supposed to speak for the West Seattle Church of Christ. It was cancelled because of snow and ice. We then went to Lakeview Church of Christ for the worship hour. We had made a huge crock pot of lasagna for pot luck. Which we ended up having for lunch with a broccoli salad I invented. I had made a carrot cake for Pawpaw's birthday which you can see in the picture. I made the giant "80" by printing an "80" outline with my printer and enlarging it with my copier. I placed this copy on the table and covered it with waxed paper. Next I melted white chocolate and filled in the "80". I glued a plastic spoon handle onto the numbers with white chocolate. I refrigerated it until it set. After frosting the cake I pushed the spoon handles into the cake and it was finished. I made enough cake for the potluck and there is still cake left.

We had planned to go to the Seattle Center and up the Space Needle but the weather changed that. We stayed home sat around the fire and sang hymns for a while. We played Catch Phrase too! We ate waaaaaay too much food!!!!

We heard at 5 am that Isaac would be in today and were we ever surprised and elated! We had so much fun being together. Having Isaac and Aunt Linda and Aunt Von around brightens the day and fills it with laughter.
Isaac had been up for 20+ hours and found it cold here! Pawpaw ended up having three birthday surprises.

We had planned to take Papa Murphy's vegetarian pizza to the potluck too! We didn't need it so we saved it to eat in the evening.

We had planned to be at Lakeview for the evening service and to make a family picture. The services were cancelled so no family picture:(

We had a nice day even though it was not what we had planned for it to be.