Silly Christmas!

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

O Christmas Tree! Finally!

You Gotta Try This!

Thanks to my online Chemistry Cooks course, today we made ice cream in plastic baggies. There are several versions of this recipe on the Internet. Here is what we did:

Start with two baggies: one quart size and one gallon size. The gallon size will hold 4 Cups of ice and 1/4 cup rock salt. (Suggestion: Spend the few extra cents and get the heavy duty baggie - you'll be glad for it later.)

In the little baggie you put 1 Cup of whole milk, 3 Tablespoons of sugar, and 1 teaspoon of vanilla flavoring.





After the little baggie is sealed up, add it to the ice and salt in the big baggie. Now SHAKE! (But don't squeeze - I'm not sure why, but that is what all the recipes say!)


Keep shaking for 6-8 minutes. This is a lot of shaking for one little person. We took turns. For Macy's turn, Dan helped by shaking Macy up and down. She loved that!



Keep shaking! Try dancing with a little shake - that entertained Jesse. (Regular readers: note Chuck in the background. His fur is growing, but he needs a jacket for going outside! It has reflector stripes on it.) You will know it is finished when the small baggie gets puffy and pillowy.


Finally, time to eat! It melts fast, so eat quick!



And then play with your spoon, of course!

Downtown Holiday Jacket and Pant GIVEAWAY!!!!

Downtown Holiday Jacket and Pant GIVEAWAY!!!!

Partners in Costume Crime!

The kids had a great time at the Festi-Fall! These are some pictures with their classmates.

New Grosgrain Info

See my last post for the info on this fun blog called Grosgrain. This weekend the blog announced the opening of a new online store AND a new giveaway. I love these clothes so much, I'm inspired to start sewing myself! (Of course, we all know I won't. We all know I'm the person who BUYS, not the person who MAKES.)

Anyway, if you have little girls, check it out for yourself!

GROSGRAIN MINI STORE OPENING NOVEMBER 6!!!!! AND BIG PREVIEW GIVEAWAY!!!!

Hey, Moms!

I found this new site through my friend Becky at Wonders Never Cease.

Marie-Therese Gown GIVEAWAY !!!!!!!

You are going to love checking in at Grosgrain and entering her give-aways for costumes she makes herself! If your girls are anything like mine, there is nothing better than a new set of dress-ups! Check it out!

Changes at Our House



Chuck and Jesse have recently experienced some losses. See below.


Jesse is happy to lose his front tooth, but poor Chuck! Apparently we aren't very good at grooming a dog with his kind of coat. We know better now, but not before Chuck had to be totally shaved!

After School Snack

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Macy Loves Her New Hairstyle!

Macy Poses

The big kids and Daddy are in Omaha, so Macy and I are enjoying a quiet house!


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Macy Takes Chuck for a Walk

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Dan's Sign

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On Stage!

Here's Dan during his first set. They were awesome!


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Looking Forward to Missing You

Those were Molly's words this morning as we dropped our kids off at Grandma's. Now we're on the road to Silver Dollar City!



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Teeth!

I found these Firefly toothbrushes at Shopping. They flash for one minute. You can't see it very well, but tonight the kids turned off the lights to get the full effect.

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Sisters Rock!




Serenity, Charity, and Me (Felicity)

His Biggest Fan

This is Ada watching her Daddy perform at Crossover in June.
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Jesse's Birthday Cupcakes

For a Yankee Doodle Boy!

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Macy in the Backseat

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The Men

Jesse has now been introduced to the key-tar. I thought it would be a fun toy for him, but he took it very seriously. In this picture you can see that Dan taught Jesse which notes to play to hold down the bass line and then they got busy singing together.

Happy Birthday, Macy Cheri! (And Daddy, too!)


Last Wednesday was Macy's 1st Birthday (and Dan's 31st). It is true what they say, time really does fly when you're having fun!

The Sheriff's Academy Graduates

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What is Different?

Macy before...


Macy after...


Ah, the power of a blankie and a paci!

Chuck's Run

Scroll down quickly to the get the effect of actually being in the yard with us this afternoon!

We've Got Chuck!

This is our new Havanese puppy, Chuck.

We call him that because it looks like he's wearing white sneakers on all four paws. Also, he is the same color as Dan's favorite shoes - Chuck Taylor All Stars.

(And I think of it secretly as a nick name for Charles Dickens, who owned a Havanese).

Here he is with Jesse. Doesn't he look like a Muppet dog?

An Evening in the Park

After school on Friday we loaded up and went to Madison Park in Quincy.


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Awards Night!

These are the events that remind a Mom that no matter what else she does in life, she's already contributing something beautiful to the world. Jesse received a certificate for A Honor Roll and a medal for Scripture Saver, which means he memorized all his assigned verses for the school year.

Study Spot

I went to the Quincy University library today and this is the view from the literature section window. Inspiring!


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The Chucks Family

Daddy bought the big girls new shoes to match him and Jess.


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Another Family Blog

My cousin Jennie has some great pictures up from our family Easter gathering at The Farm.

Click here.

Macy at 10 months!

What I Learned from My Daddy ...

Sisters in Spring

Ada and Macy are watching Dan fly a kite on the quad.






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Claire's Story

I am working on Claire's fundraising page for the March of Dimes event March for Babies. We've participated every year since Claire was born, except last year because I was pregnant with Macy.

A passionate nurse was the first to tell us about all that the March of Dimes has done for premature babies, and all babies, in the world. Ever heard that women who want to have children should increase their folic acid intake? The March of Dimes spent years pushing that public service campaign and now it is almost common knowledge. The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit is also an invention of the March of Dimes.

We give all thanks to God for Claire's miraculous healing, but we are sure that He used the March of Dimes along the way!

I'm reactivating this blog. Dan bought me a Blackberry smart phone and I can send blog posts automatically from it! What is this crazy world coming to? But I love it. I'll try it soon...as soon as I can figure out how!