book review - The Shack by William P. Young

This is a very, very good book. An interesting look at God. Challenges you to really look at your relationship with Him. The main character in the book is Mack. He is a father who was abused as a child and whose own daughter is abducted and killed. God first appears to him as a female and God specifically states that it is because he is not ready to have a relationship with a Father --- Mack does not have a good view of what a father is since his own father was so abusive. I have to admit that I was challenged by God as a female but the book is not trying to be feministic. It is trying to get us to realize that we are made in God's image - male and female. He is broader and so much more than our limited view allows.

The book addresses forgiveness. Mack is asked by God to forgive the man who abused his daughter. I really recommend this book. The concept of forgiveness is addressed very well in the book. This is a quote from the book, "Forgiveness is first for you, the forgiver, ... to release you from something that will eat you alive, that will destroy your joy and your ability to love fully and openly."

6 year olds are so funny

Alot was going on --- my husband was washing dishes, the oldest was packing his hockey gear, the middle child was talking (as always - non-stop) and the 6 year old sneezed. No one heard it.

All of a sudden he says "is anyone listening to me?"

My husband says, "No, J. What do you need?"

The 6 year old responds, "I sneezed and had to bless myself."

Dairy Free Cinnamon Rolls

Sorry for the delay - we left town for a wedding. But honestly these are the absolutely best cinnamon rolls and they are completely dairy free. Here is the recipe. (The original version came from Taste of Home but I modified it to be dairy free.)

4 1/2 cups bisquick baking mix

1 1/3 cups rice milk

Filling:

2 tablespoons Smart Balance Light buttery spread (there is no dairy in this one - but in most other varieties of Smart Balance dairy is present - read the label - it should say 100% Vegan and dairy free right on the label)

1/4 cup sugar

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/3 cup raisins, optional

icing:

2 cups confectioners' sugar

2 tablespoons Rice Milk

1 tablespoons Smart Balance Light buttery spread, melted

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a bowl, combine bisquick and rice milk. Turn onto a floured surface; knead 8-10 times (I actually did this for 8 minutes as that is what the bisquick box calls for). Roll the dough into a 12 x 10 in. rectangle. Spread with butter. Combine sugar, cinnamon and raisin if desired. Sprinkle over butter.

Roll up from a long side; pinch seam to seal. Cut into 12 slices; place with cut side down on a large greased baking sheet. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown. Meanwhile, combine the icing ingredients; spread over rolls. Serve warm.

These were absolutely fantastic!

Lone Survivor by Marcus Luttrell

I got this as a book on CD. We listened to this on the 6 hour drive to and from the wedding. We had lots of time! First, while all my kids did listen to the story, I am not so sure it is really advisable for younger kids. It graphically tells the story of the Seal Team 10 in Afghanistan in the spring of 2005. Everyone dies but Marcus. Many children can't handle that type of story. Further, the story is told by Marcus and although he is very much a Christian, he is also a soldier. Many military men due to the type of job they live and do every day, just have a more graphic vocabulary. There is swearing and God's name is taken in vain. We talked about this as a family and my kids know that just because others use the words doesn't make it right.

Now having said that - wow, what a powerful story. He clearly blames the deaths of his 3 comrades on the 'rules of engagement' that have been forced upon our military. It has made it hard for the military to do their job. It has made them feel like their actions are constantly being second guessed and that they are under attack from our liberal media. It is a powerful story and one that I am glad he told. Marcus Luttrell is a hero. Our whole family were honored to hear his story. He is an amazing man. I highly recommend reading this book or as we did - listening to it on tape.

forgiveness

Very powerful video.

Forgiveness is not done for the sake of the forgiven but for the sake of the forgiver.

Wedding

Isn't this a great picture - my sister, the bride and my oldest son! (And he did have a tie on - but by this time in the evening both he and his father decided the ties had to go!!)

Father of the bride dance

It was my youngest sister that got married. Here she and my Dad are dancing.

Bad weather

Driving to the wedding, was a bit harry. It was raining when we left. It turned to sleeting rain. The white stuff on the ground is really more ice than snow. It was a very wild drive there. As we went a bit further, we saw at least 8 cars in the ditch - 2 of them were rollovers. And the traffic then became stop and go. Below are a few pictures of the drive. Visibility was limited. I think the pictures show better visibility than it seemed at the time. Thankfully, everyone coming for the wedding made it through the bad weather safely.

little one sleeping

My youngest decided he didn't want to snuggle in a bed with us. We had 2 double beds in our hotel room but 5 people. The youngest decided he was most comfortable with the two chairs pushed together with the foot stool in the middle. He is very cute when sleeping, isn't he!

quotes

I have posted a bunch of quotes from founding fathers and past presidents. Fantastic advice they have to pass on to us! Please really read them. Think about them and see if as a nation we are following their advice. Are we?

Benjamin Franklin quote

Any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.

John Adams quote

Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.

Ronald Reagan Quotes

Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.

Freedom prospers when religion is vibrant and the rule of law under God is acknowledged.

George Washington Quote

Experience teaches us that it is much easier to prevent an enemy from posting themselves than it is to dislodge them after they have got possession.

Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master.

Thomas Jefferson quote

When the people fear their government, there is tyranny; when the government fears the people, there is liberty.

Dairy Free Cinnamon Rolls

They look good, don't they. The amazing thing is they are dairy free. I found a recipe in Taste of Home magazine for Cinnamon Rolls and it was fairly easy to modify it to be dairy free. Everyone in the family loved them - even the kids that can eat dairy. So they must have turned out okay. The children that can eat dairy know what 'real' cinnamon rolls taste like and would have been upset with a poor substitute. I will post the recipe when I get a moment later today.

nice day today

The two youngest enjoyed the nice weather. There is definitely a cool crispness in the air. Fall is here and winter is coming. We had frost on the ground this morning. This afternoon it warmed up nicely though and the kids decided to take advantage of the nice weather while we had it.

blogging

Well, as you can see - I am back to blogging. My husband was laughing that I go for a period of time with no updates and then whammo - many updates. Sorry about that! My life has a certain eb and flow to it. I tend to get bogged down and don't have time to updated at certain times. My kids all play hockey and a week ago we had try outs. We were running back and forth to the rink. Then this weekend was the 7th grade retreat for our confirmation program. I am in charge of the coordination of that program. I was busy getting things ready. In the end the day went really well. I am so grateful! The retreat is based on temptations. We try to show the kids how temptations can lead them away from God. We also ask them to commit to God so that He will give them the strength to stand firm. Our verse for this year's retreat was Psalms 27:1

The Lord is my light and my salvation -

who shall I fear?

The Lord is the stronghold of my life -

of whom shall I be afraid?

Some versions have that the Lord is the anchor of my life. So we used that concept and had anchors that looked like crosses on the t-shirts for the kids.

Anyway, that is what I have been up to and why I haven't been consistent in blogging. Now you are up to date! May God bless all of you!

Cheddar Potato Chowder

This is a family favorite and it is one of the ways I am able to get my picky middle child to eat veggies. Shhhhhh - don't tell him but this soup is loaded with veggies but because it is a cheesy soup, he loves it. You can see all the veggies in this picture.

Below is the finished product. Once the cheese is added, the veggies seem to diminish. While, of course they are still there, they just aren't in your face. A key feature for that veggie avoiding picky eater of mine!

It is just a fantastic tasting soup. Would be great with home-aide rolls or biscuits to dunk in the soup.

Here is the recipe (it is from Taste of Home magazine)

2 cups of water

2 cups of diced unpeeled red potatoes

1 cup of diced carrots

1/2 cup of diced celery

1/4 cup of chopped onion (I add more)

1 t. salt (I skip this)

1/4 t. pepper (I add more)

1/4 cup all purpose flour (I use whole wheat)

2 cups 2% milk

2 cups shredded cheddar cheese

1 cup cubed fully cooked lean ham (I add more)

In a dutch over, combine the first seven ingredients. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until tender.

Meanwhile, in a sauce pan, put the flour and gradually whisk in milk. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Remove from heat. Add cheese. Stir until melted. Stir ham and cheese sauce into the undrained vegetables; stir until combined.

Am I at the right house?!

In an effort to avoid having to do homework my oldest decided to actually clean his room!! Gasp!

He even went so far as to pull out the carpet cleaner and cleaned his room, the hallway and his brother's room.

Made me think I had entered the wrong house, to see all the cleaning going on. He must have REALLY not wanted to do his homework. Cleaning rates way at the bottom of his list of things to do. To willingly jump to it --- well, it just makes a Mom suspicious!

Art class - Unweavings

This was such an unusual project but turned out really cool. Each child had a piece of burlap. She discussed how there is a warp and weft. To unweave the burlap the students pulled out the weft. Then they weaved in yarn to create a design. She discussed complementary colors and used the color wheel to explain that concept to the students. She also explained what monochromatic meant. Beads were added as embellishments. It made a very neat wall hanging. I was surprised by how much the students really enjoyed this project.

Here are the youngest students in our group posing with their finished creations. Most of the older students didn't finish in class.

State Park

Believe it or not, there is a state park right downtown. The park was just created about 2 years ago. The land was formed when our city dug out dirt to make the deep tunnels for our sewer system. The park was built on the island that was formed from dumping the dirt.

The lighthouse is at the mouth of a river where the river and the lake join.

We separated into two groups and had a class for the younger kids & one for the older kids. This naturalist was simply fantastic with the younger ones. She did circle time activities, read a book, and played games - all to reinforce the concepts she was teaching. Aren't the views of the city in the background just amazingly beautiful. Plus we really ended up with great weather the day we went. It rained the day before and the day after. Our day was just perfect - yah! God really answered that prayer! I really didn't want all the work of having to reschedule.

Don't ya just wonder what on earth they are looking for?

My youngest loves to pose for the camera!

field trip to a local university

We went to the Entomology labs - and while this fun creature is not part of the insect family - apparently whom else do college students give their no longer wanted spiders to - but the entomology guy!!

Below are pictures from our trip to the physics museum. We had one of the absolutely best guides. He was so personable and really explained the concepts so well to the kids (and moms!!)

My son is the one that has to be right up in front. He is always eager to learn.

field trip to a local university

They talked about DNA and this is a sculpture / fountain in the lobby that represents what DNA looks like. It was a great tool for the kids to get a visual understanding of DNA.

Field trip to a local university

This was the biotech lab. They had the kids extract DNA from wheat. It was very neat. And they got to take the sample home. My kids couldn't wait to get home to view it under the microscope.

quote

Say what you mean

and mean what you say......

Glenn Beck

Marvelous Light

By Charlie Hall

Very uplifting