Fun with our small group

We were able to go out on a "group date" with our small group last Saturday night. We've been meeting over the summer and sharing food and the Word together. The ladies usually take turns cooking a meal and we come together and eat and the teenage girls take care of the little ones while we've been studying the book of Mark. It's been a great time of fellowship and Bible study. At the end of our study time, the guys and gals split up and share prayer requests and pray together. What a blessing! So we decided to go out together to a neat little Italian restaurant in Dublin, GA. Dublin is not far from Eastman, so we often go there when we want to eat at a new place. None of us had ever eaten there before, so I was wide eyed when we walked in and saw how neat it looked! I loved the high ceilings, huge brick oven, and exposed brick. After a great meal, Joe, Sophie, Isaac, and I headed across the street to a cute candy/ice cream shop called Scoops. I loved the atmosphere! Sophie and I just got a cookie and split it, but it was definitely a place I'd want to go to again. Overall it was a great night! Our small group is on a little hiatus right now, but we all have grown close and look forward to coming back and meeting again! I'm so thankful for brothers and sisters in Christ!

What's cookin'?

Tonight I made Thai food....for the first time since we've been married, I think...from our Children's World Cookbook. I thought it was great! Joe and Sophie seemed to think so, too, since their plates were empty. It's called coconut chicken. It is made with coconut milk, onions, garlic, and the chicken was sprinkled with lime, ground ginger, salt and pepper. Yum! It reminded me of Thailand. I served it with white and brown rice (I started off with brown, but ran out, so I had to add some white :-D), steamed some broccoli and put a little shredded cheese on top. Then we had some Jello nobake strawberry cheesecake for dessert. Here's a look at the main meal...

I added some cucumbers, too, for Joe and Sophie. I typically don't buy foods that I don't like...kind of crazy, but just habit. Well, I knew that Joe liked cucumbers and I thought Sophie did, so I bought a few last time we were at the store. I cut one up and Sophie LOVED them! Between her and Joe, they ate the whole cucumber...and it was a big one! That's one thing I've got to remember to do...buy foods even if I don't eat them and they do! We also took the opportunity to pray for our friends who are missionaries in Thailand. Cooking foods from other places is a great way to remind us to pray for those who are serving around the world!

God bless!

Singin' and Steamin'

Here it is...a picture of my steamer that I have begun to enjoy (I got this off the net, by the way)! It's Black and Decker's flavor scenter steamer plus food and rice cooker. You can steam different foods at once (it's got the extra basket that you can leave in or take out if you're doing different foods). It's got a rice bowl (I haven't tried it yet, but I hope to....I can't wait to get some "good" rice...like Jasmine that they have in Thailand!). You can't see it, but it also has a piece that goes in that has a little mesh basket thing that you can put spices in. I really like this thing!

On a different note, this afternoon I told Sophie, "No more tv!" I haven't been feeling that great this past week and PBS kids is very entertaining for her. The shows are good and clean, but I don't like the glazed over eyes look that Sophie gets after a little while. So, after lunch, the tv went off and I told her she could look at books, play with toys, or play with her playdough. I also thought I would turn on some music. I may have recommended this cd before, but I wanted to recommend it again because I've enjoyed it since Sophie was little. It's got several different artists, including Christy Nockels (Watermark). It's called Sing Over Me. There are great songs/lullabies for adults and kids.

If you're able to get it, I think you'll enjoy it. I hope you all have a blessed week!

What's cookin'?

I wanted to take pictures, but I was just kind of worn out. But it was good! I'm so thankful for Shake 'n Bake...let me tell you! We had pork chops with the shake on it, and it was awesome! Parmesan flavor. We also had some green beans with potatoes and I steamed some carrots in my steamer (again, why did I not get this thing out sooner?!). The steamer has a little basket in it that you can put seasonings in that will flavor the food. Apparently dill complements carrots. I didn't realize that. But it was good. And then the dessert....Deceptively Delicious' coffee cake. It is actually really good. It's made with 1 cup of butternut squash in the center. I don't think I even like butternut squash. But I like it like this! :-) The cookbook has a website if you want to check it out. http://www.deceptivelydelicious.com
Enjoy and God bless!

Consignment shopping

I don't know about you other mom's out there, but I love getting cute clothes for my little ones...but I never like to pay the full price. I had never thought about consignment shopping until I had kids of my own. There's just no way to afford good kids clothes that aren't on sale or second hand...at least not for our growing family. When I was a teenager, I thought it was pretty cool to go with my friends to the Salvation Army store in Macon. I found some good stuff there. I've gone to the Habitat for Humanity and the Christian Life Center here in Eastman and found some good stuff. The reason this is on the brain is that I just went to a sale in Macon, off of Hartley Bridge Rd., and found some really cute stuff for Sophie and Isaac. I am also going to one in Macon in a few weeks...Sept. 9-12...that's off of Riverside Dr. It's called Kidz Replay and it's a great sale. They always have lots of cute stuff. I'm thinking some potential Christmas/birthday gifts from there, too. That's a great way to do some holiday shopping! There's another sale either the weekend before or after (not sure) at Hepzibah Children's Home that's very popular and has good stuff, too. If you're in the Savannah area, there is a sale called Coastal Kids Market that sells a lot of upscale kids clothing for less. If you know of a great sale that you'd like to pass on, I'd love to hear about it. My favorite find at this past sale: a pair of Bass little girl black shoes that Sophie can wear with pants or dresses. She wore them to church today! Only $6! They look brand new, too! Hope you all have a blessed week!

Health Begins with Mom

Health Begins with Mom: "'Health Begins With Mom is hosting an eco-friendly toy giveaway sponsored by All Children’s Furniture who carries everything from kid's furniture to toys. Stop by before midnight Aug 27st EST to enter to win! '"

Playdough fun

Today was a fun day! After doing some cleaning at the house, we had some friends, the Walkers, over for playing and eating supper. The kids played together and then we got the stuff out to make homemade playdough! It's very easy and the kids loved it! I didn't get any pictures in the process, but here they are afterwards. They were able to choose what color they wanted and enjoyed cutting out shapes with cookie cutters and played with different little spoons and things I had. This recipe also says that it won't stick to carpet either. Pretty good! Here's the recipe (I got it off of cooks.com):
Homemade Playdough:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 cup salt
• 2 tsp. cream of tartar
• 1 cup water
• 1 tbsp cooking oil

Mix ingredients in a sauce pan (I did it in the electric skillet). Cook over medium heat until it forms into a ball, stirring constantly. Food coloring can be added. Knead on waxed paper. Let cool.

Like I said, the kids loved it! We let each child put in a different ingredients and they thought that was fun. My mom used to do this with us when we were kids, so it brought back great memories!

I also made a chicken recipe that my mom gave me for supper. We had it with brown rice and Jiffy cornbread muffins. I'm not sure what it's called :-).

Ingredients:

• chicken...I used boneless/skinless
• 1 can corn
• 1 can black beans
• 1 jar salsa

Layer your crockpot with chicken on bottom, drain your black beans and add them, drain your corn and add it, then pour your jar of salsa on top. Let it cook on high for a few hours or on low for the day. I doubled my recipe and I had a ton left over! You can also sprinkle shredded cheddar cheese on top...yum!

We also made Lamingtons (an Australian recipe) from the Children's World cookbook. It was delicious! Again, I highly recommend it!

Hope you have a great day!