Just Relaxin'

Yesterday, my friend G-Girl and I took the kids up to Skyline Drive. We just wanted to get away and just relax and not have to worry about anything. Here are a few pictures I took during our lazy afternoon!

   

   

I loved that I got Kiddo in this picture.....
I LOVE IT!

What A Blessing

A few weeks ago I drove to an empty farm house that I absolutely LOVE and pray one day to live.   It was an absolutely GORGEOUS day, after weeks of bitter cold, so I decided to stay for awhile and just take in the beauty and magnificence of it all.

This particular day, I came upon a mamma and her newly born calf on part of the acreage that is being rented for cattle.  After a little while, the calf got up and walked around on her very wobbly legs. I have to say, that was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. Mamma then started making noise, giving direction to her newborn to follow her, and away they went to another section of the field together.  I have a feeling they were trying to get away from me!  lol

Thank you, Father, for giving me that moment to slow down and enjoy Your AMAZING and BEAUTIFUL world.  What a blessing it truly was!  

YES, TO VBS!

Today was our first day of VBS.  There is a LOT of work entailed in planning and preparing for Vacation Bible School.  Many volunteers are needed for many different jobs.  Teaching and assisting in classrooms, to preparing and serving snacks, to driving the van that picks up and drops off those precious smiling faces of the most AMAZING children are just to name a few.  No job is small....all are extremely IMPORTANT!

In the past I have been a driver, but this year I am assisting my friend in doing crafts.

We have been having a great time and can't wait to see the look on the children's faces when they see what they will be making for that day. 

This is our classroom out in the Youth Building.  Plenty of room and wonderful....

 

AIR CONDITIONING!   

WOO HOO!

This is our kindergarten class holding their Firecracker Pens. While one of the girls was making her pen she said, "I can't wait to use my pen on our country's birthday that is coming up really soon!"
Such a PATRIOTIC young lady! 

Summer Fun

FARMHOUSE BLESSINGS!

An "Egg"-citing Quiz

 Are you ready for a little quiz? Each answer to the questions are one-word answers beginning with the "egg" sound.  Each answer is a noun.  The answers will be at the bottom of this post, but try your best not to look!

LET THE "EGGS-CITEMENT" BEGIN!!

1*What eggs are specialists or authorities on a subject?

2*What kind of eggs are very good role models?

3*What eggs stay physically active to keep fit?

4*What type of eggs are leaders in the corporate world?

5*What kind of eggs blow up with a thunderous noise?

6*What kind of eggs are gregarious, sociable, and outgoing?

7*What type of eggs are a good place to leave?

8*What kind of eggs search new parts of the world?

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

ANSWERS

1*Eggs-perts
2*Eggs-amples
3*Eggs-ercisers
4*Eggs-ecutives
5*Eggs-plosions (or eggs-plosives)
6*eggs-troverts
7*Eggs-its
8*Eggs-plorers

Well.....how'd you do? 

You Did WHAT?

A few weeks ago, I rode an  

ELEPHANT

 ......and it was......

AMAZING!

Her name was BEAUTIFUL.....and she certainly was!

You've GOT To See This - Especially Renee

PLEASE PAUSE PLAYLIST ON FAR-RIGHT SIDEBAR BEFORE VIEWING VIDEO!

My friend Renee over at "GLOW ACADEMY" just got a treadmill.  When I read that on her blog, I knew I just HAD to share this video!

I know you will love this....it's so COOL!!

I've Gotta Have These

The hen for me.......

And the rooster for Skippy! 

AWESOME!!!

SUMMER MOVIE EXPRESS

THIS IS AWESOME!

Regal Entertainment has planned a fun-filled summer of select movies for kids and parents. Regal has proudly offered this summer fun since 1991. This year, all selected movies will have only a $1.00 admission.

Selected G or PG movies start at 10:00 am every Tuesday and Wednesday during the festival. Tickets and seating are first-come, first-served and are limited to theater capacity.

The Summer Movie Express is safe, lots of fun, and a great way for kids to spend a weekday morning in the summer. (and did I mention it's air conditioned?  :> )  Tickets for the 2011 Summer Movie Express are exclusively available at select theater's box office on the day of the show.

To find out if there is a participating theater near you, please click HERE!

Thank you, Regal Entertainment. You're AWESOME!

Liquid Dish Soap

First, I want to apologize for this mish-mosh of pictures. I have been having serious issues uploading my pictures with photobucket for the past few days and I am NOT happy! I found www.photovisi.com, but as you can, I don't know WHAT I'm doing! LOL

Ok, with that said, let's get on the making some liquid dish soap! I really liked using this recipe for a few reasons; because it is really a simple one, not only in ingredients, but in effort as well. Also, because it is very economical, costing me around .50 cents to make 1 1/2 quarts. I purchased a 6 oz. bottle of glycerin at Wal-Mart for $3.12. (it can be found in the first aide aisle), and I grated a bar of soap that I had purchased in a multi-pack on sale awhile back for my laundry detergent. You only use 1 tablespoon of glycerin per batch, which comes to .26 cents a tablespoon, added to the approximate cost of .25 cents for the grated soap. WOO HOO! That is definitely a price this "frugal female" can handle!

This recipe I used, changes hard bar soap into liquid soap with the addition of the glycerin. You will need the following ingredients for one batch:

*1 cup of grated bar soap or soap flakes
*1 1/2 quarts water
*1 tablespoon of glycerin

Materials you will need:
*a large saucepan
*a cup measure
*tablespoon
*a glass jar w/lid, or suitable container w/lid
*stick blender (emulsifier)

Mix water, grated soap, and glycerin in large saucepan over low heat until soap is completely dissolved. Stir occasionally until mixture is smooth in texture. Pour into container, cover. Let cool overnight, bringing mixture to room temperature.In the morning, the mixture will be a thick, milky gel. Mine was actually VERY THICK, as you can see in the first picture in the second collage box. I used my emulsifier for a good 5 minutes, making sure to get ALL the lumps out. You want your liquid to be smooth. See the difference between the first and the third pic? WOO HOO. . . . .we have liquid dish soap!

Pour your soap into whatever resealable container or decorative decanter you want to use. I used an old plastic dish soap and iced tea bottle, but still had a little left over. I know I have another small one around here somewhere!

***If you would like to make a thinner soap recipe, just add a bit of extra warm water and shake. This would be great for a hand pump in the bathroom.

I used my soap this morning to wash the breakfast dishes and a greasy pan and I had no trouble at all. You can bet I'll be making my own liquid dish soap from now on!

The Lost Art Of Letter Writing

When is the last time you wrote someone a letter? Not an e-mail or text message, a real, handwritten with paper and pen, mailed in a stamped envelope letter?

There was a time when writing letters was our only means of communication. Now, technology enables us to pick up our cell phone, send an e-mail or a fax, or send text messages, and be immediately connected with anyone just about anywhere in the world, Don't you just LOVE technology?

Recently, I received a card in the mail from a friend of mine that took me by surprise. WOW, I thought....that was so sweet! It was nice to go to the mailbox and get something other than BILLS! lol

Well, I was thinking.....(I know that's a dangerous thing! lol) wouldn't it be nice to have a Pen-Pal? Maybe there is someone out there who would like to receive letters/cards/notes in the mail too!

So, are there any takers? Would any of you be interested in having a Pen-Pal? If so, please send me an e-mail with your names and address....it's that easy!

I hope to hear from you!

A Day Out

Last week, Skippy, Bean, Kiddo, and myself, decided to go out for a drive. We left early in the morning and just took our time, not watching the clock and thoroughly enjoying the beautiful countryside. We started out the day with a trip to a nearby meat processing plant, and then over to a local orchard where we had a great time drinking cider and picking apples.

From the apples we got that day, we canned 36-1/2 pint jars of apple butter! Oh, how WONDERFUL they housed smelled of apples and cinnamon!

I had a lot more pictures of our day and canning, but for some reason I can't find them. I hope you enjoy the few pics I was able to find!