I Love My Dad's Job

Well, at least one of my dad's 'occupations' since he also is one of the pastors in our church. Janelle here writing to say that I LOVE my dad's other job as an educational consultant. Want to know why? When he travels, I can sometimes go along to some really cool places.

So this morning I find out that I'm going TO THE WHITE HOUSE tomorrow! Woohoo!!

Okay, actually it's the White House complex, but it's just about the same thing right?

We'll be attending a policy briefing on "The Dropout Epidemic in the U.S." Whoa. Sounds very important and Mom says that even if it's over my head, I should pay attention. And, I may get to meet Colin Powell's wife who is speaking. There will only be about 100 attendees, so maybe I'll get a shot at a picture or something! It all seems very intriguing to me and I'm very excited to go! We even had to send in my full name, SSN and date of birth for security reasons and have to show up early to get checked out.

This is definitely a super cool field trip. I'm going to try and convince Jackie to go along as well, since permission was given for both of us to attend. I'll tell you more about it & post pictures if I can get any. Tootles!

I Love My Dad's Job

Less Than 30 School Days....

....until graduation!! Hello once again everyone, it's Jackie the senior here.

Yes, only a precious few more days of this side of my educational journey. A few more busy days as well! There are exams coming up, end of the year activities, grad practices and all of the like. It's a full month and somewhere in there my family also has stuff going on--Mother's Day plans and our my dad's annual extended family reunion. So, it's going to be a fun time as you can tell!

I've been getting a little tired of everyone asking me what I'm doing after high school. Specifically, where am I going to college and what am I studying?? {sigh}

Now, don't get me wrong, I want to go and have a sketch of a plan, but the pressure to 'have it all together' is a bit much. Fortunately, my parents & I are of the viewpoint that I don't have to figure it all out before September! Right now, their strong encouragement is that I finish well. Then, take a breath over the summer and start some general courses in the fall...all the while pausing, thinking, praying and discerning. I think I'll do that! This summer I'm especially excited to have a part in the musical The King and I at a local theatre; Janelle got a part as well, so get to share that together.

On another note, Mom and I are busy talking & sharing about plans for the upcoming celebrations, namely my grad party and my blessing party. In our home at age 13, 18 (which I'll be this summer!!) & before we get married (which is NOT on my agenda right now) we have a time of blessing with our parents and other significant adults who have been people of influence in our lives. My 2nd round of blessing is coming up and besides my dad who will be there at the beginning, it's all women involved.

I plan to make it very feminine and full of pastels (because I still love the color pink), and am browsing through magazines for ideas. See the pics--either of these might be a style for the invitations. We've already contacted the about 10-13 women who are invited to 'save the date', but haven't sent out formal invites yet. What do you think?

above: the one on the left with the ribbon & twigs?

below: this one in pastels?

The blessing party is at the end of June & will be in our home, so I'm also thinking of decorating some with florals....we thought this was a cool idea to do around the ceiling, except that the word would NOT be 'fairy'!!


Well, it's time to make up our minds Mom says! So, I need to figure all that out.

My parents are also letting me have a drop-in party for friends at the end of May (volleyball, outdoor games, FOOD, and such), AND a brunch for our family members that come for the actual graduation event on June 5th. THREE special times of celebration...yeah!

So, instead of blogging--let me get to my party planning. See ya!

Less Than 30 School Days....

Time to Plant!

Both children are SO excited to get these into pots! We'll keep updating.

Time to Plant!

A Photo Contest

5 Minutes for Moms is hosting a photo contest. Click above to find out the rules and such if you're interested. We're to post a photo that means 'motherhood' to us and to explain it if we would like.

I would like to enter this photo & description:

It's one of my youngest daughter looking outside of our glass door one winter desparately desiring to be on the other side participating in the big world outdoors, no matter how blustery. She had been there for a while (if you look closely, you'll see her breath on the pane).

Yep, this picture probably sums up motherhood for me.

Taking time with my little ones, and my not so little ones, while they are still on this side of the glass pane so to speak--with me, close by, within my reach--before they leave and go out to the other side.

To create their own worlds and homes.

I'm not too sure what the weather will be or what life may hold for them, but the opportunity to bring them near and prepare their hearts and minds for the future is a precious gift that I don't take lightly.

And one that I fully enjoy.

A Photo Contest

Oh yeah....

...they were delicious. I think we are officially spoiled. Each of us sat around the table savoring every bite, seriously. Fluffy & light and simply perfect. Most definitely a keeper recipe.

just a note that on the recipe, the last egg and water are to be saved to top the rolls.

Oh yeah....

A Good Day

I promise that my future posts won't all begin with 'a good....'

This has been a difficult week; yes, it's only Wednesday, but I'm feeling like it's been a full week already. In order not to succumb to the topsy-turvy and completely unreliable compass of my emotions, I decided today to combat the stress with a few of my favorite things....

51. my life verse, read and talked about at our wedding. hmmm, I might even pull out the video to hear it live. I reviewed the entire chapter this morning :: excellent for restoring perspective and focus.

52. taking pictures of the loveliness and stopping to notice the beauty

53. creating with my children :: laughing, sharing, & talking all along

54. books, books, books! a trip to the library to find more treasures to read together

55. a cup of tea. haven't had it yet, but maybe tonight after the children are tucked in

56. a phone call to my husband (also yet to be done); he's traveling & it will be good to hear his voice

57. trying out a new recipe :: homemade hamburger rolls. we'll soon discover how they taste!

58. encouraging music :: praise hymns, relaxing vocals and instrumentals

59. a short walk around the neighborhood, checking out what others are planting :o)

60. His voice. listening for it & pausing to hear the whispers

A Good Day

Spring Science

Since the talk around our home is about gardening, we thought it would be a good idea to post some of our favorite books on the topic! These have been checked out of the library, so hint, hint grandparents--we don't own them and would love to! No pressure or anything.

Roots Shoots Buckets & Boots ~ a great book on gardening together with our parents! Fun and informative as well. We really like this one.

Up, Down, and Around ~ wonderful for preschoolers! Here we learned about veggies that grow underground, some that grow above ground and others that grown all around the garden.

The Vegetables We Eat ~ a good source of info on how various veggies are grown and then the process of how they get to our grocery store. We learned much about how botanists catagorize veggies--by the part that we eat: tuber, leaf, stem, bulb, flower bud, root, seed, or fruit.

A Seed is Sleepy ~ this is Mom's personal favorite, you can find her looking through it on her own! This book has gorgeous illustrations and information on seeds and their 'abilities'. Such as...a seed is clever: it knows to seek the sunlight, to push itself up, up, up through the soil.

In all of this talk and reading, Mom has also explained that God planned for seeds to do their job from the very beginning of creation. Isn't that amazing? He made every tree, every plant, every fruit with the ability to make more of itself. That way, He wouldn't have to keep speaking words of creation every time we needed more fruit or another tree somewhere. In one word, He planned for it to go on, and on, and on....Wow! How super-duper intelligent of God!!

Oh, one more book: One Bean, which inspired this project:

We're growing beans! A bean is a seed that we can eat; and we started it off by placing two between wet paper towels. Their hard skin will get soft and wrinkly and begin to sprout. We'll update as we go along!

Spring Science

A Good Break

I know, I know. I should have written that there would be a pause in posts around here!

It was good to take a bit of a break during some busy weeks, unusually so for our family. But, we've weathered the activities and the going here and there. Now, there is a need to settle a bit and prepare for the next round of events. We have a graduating senior who will also be 18 this summer, so there are some celebrations to plan for--exciting! That will bring its own hulabaloo, but life is about building relationships, even around party planning {smile!}.

Other than that, on my mind is what to do about our garden plot. This is a yearly debate and concern. We've planted and not planted. What to do is always a question. It's was here when we bought the house, it's a good size and it's fenced. What more could I ask for? A small problem is that we have friends with even larger gardens that give us produce; and we have numerous farmer's markets close by.

But, there is just something about planting and watching things grow and then eating the fruit of your labor. So the question remains....does our family want to labor!?

We'll see. I'll let you know.

A Good Break

Boyhood

exploring, seeking, playing, finding...water, sunshine, tall grasses & rocks.

and one little boy enjoying it all.

Boyhood

Jordyn, The Domestic Diva

I love to help Mom out and am often on the lookout for ways to get involved around the house. I especially enjoy cooking. Fortunately, Mama doesn't mind me slowing her down with my numerous questions--yeah!

More recently, I asked to learn embroidery. Mom is working slowly at teaching herself and it seems interesting to me. So off we went to get some sturdy burlap material and a tapestry needle (it's pretty blunt); I chose my thread from Mom's stash and voila! Lots of fun going on.

idea of how to teach children embroidery from The Creative Family

Jordyn, The Domestic Diva

Hello Again!

We're back after an intentional break! Let's try several little posts about what's been going on instead of one really way-too-long one, shall we?

First, Janelle's show was GREAT! She did an excellent job throughout all 12 performances and has fallen in 'love' with acting, singing and all that jazz. If you enjoyed Schoolhouse Rock from the 70s and 80s, you would have loved the show--75 kids singing their hearts out to the famous 'Conjunction Junction', 'Interjections!' and many others. A favorite in our home, 'Just a Bill', is pictured below.

See her? Janelle is one of the many grumpy 'bills' stuck in committee!

Oh, yeah! Now they've been made into a law!

Confused? Well, check out the original Schoolhouse Rock cartoon & see how a bill becomes a law.

The theatre was wonderful to work with and made the job easy for parents. In the last few weeks, we heard about another audition and yes....Janelle AND Jackie decided to go for it. They both got cast into The King and I for this July! Exciting all around! We're looking forward to playing around with the face makeup needed to play the Asian parts. And, we've rented the original 1956 musical so that they can learn the songs. More on that as it develops!

Hello Again!

Beauty and the Boring

You have to be grateful for it all...true? What I feel like is lovely and also for other things that don't quite cut that list.

42. for more signs of Spring all around
43. the pitter-patter of his little feet. gotta love it.
44. and his shadow....oh, too cute.

45. the accomplishment of Spring cleaning all around the kitchen

46. the further projects that need to be completed (thus the title boring :o)

47. reviewing a simple book from my past faves list

48. laundry done! a gift of service from my dear husband

49. cranberry goodness...

50. quiet moments in busy days....

Beauty and the Boring

Recipe Swap Time!

It's that time again...

Herbed Rice Pilaf

1 cup uncooked long grain rice
1 cup chopped celery (we sometimes omit this)
3/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter or margarine
2-1/2 cups water
1 package dry chicken noodle soup mix
2 TBsp minced fresh parsley (I used dried at times)
1/2 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp rubbed sage
1/4 tsp pepper

In skillet, cook the rice, celery and onion in butter, stirring constantly, until rice is browned. Stir in the rest of the ingredients; bring to boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand covered for 10 minutes. Stir before serving if spices need to be mixed up.

It's delicious and our favorite rice recipe!!

Recipe Swap Time!

Tagged!

Okay, I am late on responding to this, but here goes anyway. A new blog friend, Jennifer at Fruitful Vine just tagged me. I've been tagged before on another topic, but just didn't get to it.

Here are the rules:
1. Link your tagger and list these rules on your blog.
2. Share 7 facts about yourself on your blog, some random, some weird.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post by leaving their names as well as links to their blogs.
4. Let them know they are tagged by leaving a comment on their blog.

Here are 7 things about me:

::: I am an organized pack rat. but getting better at giving things away.

::: If I could visit anywhere in the world right now, it would be Rome. It used to be Paris, but that's moved to slot #2. Then I have a huge list of other places to go!

::: If I had to be stuck inside of any building for a long time, I would pick a library. ooooh, wait. maybe Barnes & Noble because you can also listen to music CDs.

::: I enjoy a huge variety of creative projects and activities.

::: When I was in 9th grade, I fell and rolled down the bleachers at a basketball game. Fortunately, nobody I now know was there to witness the event.

::: When I first got married, I had no idea that potatoes could be bought in a box. My mother always made mashed potatoes from scratch. But, I've since been converted. At times.

::: My ultimate dream home would be soooo eclectic that no one else would want to live there but me. I would decorate rooms to reflect all of my various interests and styles---vintage, contemporary, victorian, french country, craft rooms, a prayer room with low lighting & candles, etc. Etc. Etc. Yikes. It might be a scary place. Note to self: hire a decorator to make it all flow.

Alright, that's it. I'm going to skip tagging others because I've seen this already on several blogs. Fun idea...so it's going around

Tagged!