18!

My son Andy with his girlfriend Jessalyn.



My son Andy turned 18 yesterday. 18! I can't believe it....it seems like the last time I checked he was 3 and suddenly I turn around and he is 18. ~sigh~ Time goes by much, much too fast. I know I say this alot but I hope that any of you who are blessed to have little ones at home that you cherish every moment because before you know it your little boy will be a man.


His birthday was a quiet affair with just us, my Mother in law and Jessalyn. We told Andy he could pick anything he wanted for dinner or go anywhere and he picked subs from Subway. This worked out quite well for us as we recently received several two for one coupons in the mail. ~smile~ That was followed up by a birthday cake I made and snacks.

Yesterday was a hard day for me. Andy is our only child since we have not been blessed with any others and now he is legally an adult. ~sigh~ I was just happy and sad at the same time.

I ran into an older couple in the grocery store yesterday with all my little monkeys and they asked if they were all mine. I told them no I just get to look after them and that my son is just turned 18. The gentleman said to me that theirs just turned 50. That put it in a bit of perspective for me!

What a blessing to have a wonderful son who brings joy to my life.

Happy Friday!
I hope you all have a wonderful weekend!

Blessings,
Liisa

Word for 2009

Inspired by this post by Amy at Daily Pleasures I created this to remind me of what I will be working on this year which is to more fully display the characteristics of love as descibed in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.



I found the word love in the scrapbook section. It is made out of thin wood so it gives this picture a nice 3D effect. I glued it onto a piece of scrapbook paper with little flowers on it and then wrote the scripture underneath. I hung it up beside the kitchen so I will see it when I am in there and when I am in the diningroom. When I look at it it makes me smile and immediately calls that verse to mind. What a help when things are getting a bit hairy with little ones everywhere!

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 says Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.

Love always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Isn't that beautiful.

I think that so many key lessons are contained in these few short words and how wonderful to be able to apply them to my life. To be patient and kind and not envying. To never boast or be proud, or rude. To not be self seeking, easily angered or to keep records of wrongs. To not delight in evil but rejoice with truth. To always protect, trust hope and persevere. So many things to work on and a pretty reminder on my wall! ~smile~

Happy Wednesday!
Blessings,
Liisa

Hearty Chicken and Noodle Casserole

I just made this yummy casserole for a friend of mine and her hubby. She is going in for a procedure this morning and I don't expect she will be up to cooking tonight.

You can find the recipe here, though I left out the Parmesan cheese because I didn't have any and I used rotini noodles instead of egg noodles, I also used old white cheddar so you can't really see that melted on the top in the picture. It was really quick and easy and tastes so good! It's an easy recipe to make for someone who could use a meal brought to them whether they are ill, having a rough day or just had a new baby. It was made even easier for me since I had the chicken cooked, cubed and portioned in the freezer already.

Now I had best get on to the rest of my chores for today!

Happy Monday!
Blessings,
Liisa

Pioneering Biblical Femininity in a Post Christian Culture

I just had to post a link to this incredible post by Mrs. June Fuentes at A Wise Woman Builds Her Home. Very well said.

Blessings,
Liisa

Today's Craft for the Littles

Today I have five little monkeys and we will be making a spiral snake craft . It is so cute! I am just loving the Enchanted Learning website. There are so many really neat crafts for children of all ages.

To tie in with the snake theme we will be looking at some snakes online here and reading some stories with snakes to tie into the theme for today. I checked these books out of the library....
Slithery Jake by Rose Marie Provencher Illustrated by Abby Carter. Very cute story, fun to read with wonderful pictures.
Sid's Surprise by Candace Carter Illustrated by Joung Un Kim. This is a story for beginning readers, a cute story with a neat page of questions after each section.
and
The Skipping Rope Snake by Carol Ann Duffy and Lydia Monks. A very silly story, very colorful.

Happy Friday!
Blessings,
Liisa

Fried Rice Croquets Turned Rice Cakes

Well my attempt at making Fried Rice Croquets did not turn out as I had hoped. Bethany's looked so very yummy....mine? Not so much. I could not get the rice mixture to hold together at all. Not at all! I added more liquid...nope....I added another egg....nope. I just kept looking at the mess I was making thinking about how I would hate to waste all that food when I thought about Laine. What would Laine do? She would revamp it, call it by another name and pretend it was supposed to turn out that way all along.

Soooo.....

The rice cake was born. I dumped the seasoned bread crumbs into the rice mixture and it at last became sticky and held together. I formed it into little patties and fried them. My guys loved them so much they even ate them cold! ~smile~

Sometimes even a complete disaster can become something wonderful. Isn't that how it is with God as well. Even someone who feels they are a complete disaster and beyond saving can become something wonderful when they accept salvation. Thank you Lord for seeing the possibilities in even me and not tossing me away as beyond hope.

Happy Thursday!

Blessings,
Liisa

Picture from www.allposters.com

Right Now

Right now I am cooking macaroni and cheese for the monkeys lunch which I then just have to reheat when we get home from playgroup. I am also cooking some rice to make these for dinner tonight. To go with it I am making stromboli. Right now I am cooking the filling which will be ground beef, onions, green peppers (still from our freezer) and garlic. Before baking I will sprinkle on some of the chipotle that my hubby made. I already grated the cheddar and have set it aside in the fridge until I assemble it this afternoon. For the dough I will be making this Pizza dough in the bread machine....

Pizza Dough
(makes 2 - 12" pizza crusts)

1 cup water
2 tbsp. water
2 tbsp. oil
3 cups flour
3 tsp. wheat gluten
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. salt
2 1/2 tsp. yeast

Put in order in bread machine.
Select dough cycle.

I can't remember where I found this recipe so if it is yours please let me know so I can give you credit for it.

Yesterday I found a bag full of Polly Pocket toys, a large house with furniture, playground equipment, lots of little dolls, a horse and carriage and a mermaid play set with castle for $1.99 at the second hand store so I picked it up for the "big girls" One of them has been playing with it all morning!

Right now though she is "reading" some train books to the littles. So cute! I love, love, love our library! I can go online and select the books I would like from all of the branches in our county and they call me when they are there. It is a great source for movies as well and so very easy.

I have a white bread going in the bread machine right now, it is a rapid cycle one that is very good and I love that it is ready in half the time it normally takes.
You can find the recipe here.

Well I think the rice is done so I better finish that up. I still need to grate the dry bread for the bread crumbs I will be needing. Then it is off to playgroup!

Happy Wednesday!
Blessings,
Liisa