Simple Pleasures: The Christmas Edition

I apologize for waiting until the eleventh hour, or actually the 23rd hour, to post today. I promised you four faithful readers that I would post today, and I MUST keep my word. I have been busy Christmas shopping all day, and believe me, it has absolutely finished me. What little energy and strength I have left, I am expending upon this little blog 'o mine.

I wanted to share this post sooner, but well, you know why I haven't.

My family and I have very few Christmas traditions. A few of our traditions include, but are not limited to: eating turkey and the trimmings for Christmas dinner, watching as many classic Christmas shows on TV or DVD that we can, and making my favorite Christmas "Poke" cake. I wanted to share with you this simple pleasure. You all know my culinary abilities are lacking, to say the least, but even I can make this cake!

First, whip up a white cake mix, any brand will do. I personally endorse Duncan Hines. Not that Duncan Hines pays me or anything, I simply endorse them out of the goodness of my heart.

Pour the batter into two 8 or 9 inch round cake pans and bake according to the package directions. (I just love package directions. That means that there is a package, which means that I don't have to do very much.)

Let the cakes cool for 15 minutes, then remove them from the pan. Then put them back again. Hey! That sounds like a nursery rhyme! Remove 'em and put 'em back again! Uh-hem. Sorry. Anyway, after you place them back into their cozy little pans, let them cool completely.

Now here comes the fun part! Take a fork and poke the cakes all over while it's in the pan. Go ahead and go crazy, it's okay!

See? Doesn't this look like fun?

Next, boil some water. Yes, Virginia, I can boil water, despite those vicious rumors you've heard. In fact, I can do gourmet boiled water! Betcha hadn't heard that, huh?

Pour in a packet of red Jell-O. And stir, like so, for two minutes.

Because I'm a little OCD, I set the timer on my microwave for TWO MINUTES. Got that? TWO.

Oh my! Only 12 seconds to go!

After the TWO MINUTES have expired, you can then pour your red JELL-O onto your cake. Make sure you pour it right over all those little holes you've made!

Pour in all the JELL-O. Your cake should look like this. Actually, yours will probably look better.
Next, mix up some green JELL-O the same way you did the red. See the steam coming off of this one? Steam is an indication of good boiled water. But it takes an expert, so be careful.

OH! Be sure you set the timer! It would be terrible to only stir this mixture for 1 minute and 47 seconds!!

What?

You're not worried about timing it?

oh.

Well, hey! Whether you time yourself or not, be sure the JELL-O is dissolved in the boiling water that you whipped up like a pro. Then, pour the green JELL-O over the top of the other cake.

After your JELL-O is neatly and sweetly poured over your two cakes, pop them into the fridge for three hours.

After the cakes have relaxed for about three hours, remove them from their polar spa and smother them with Cool-Whip. It's good for their pores. I wished I had used more for this cake, but hindsight is 20/20. Learn from my mistakes, PLEASE!

TADA! It's done!

When your all done slathering on the Cool Whip, go ahead and cut a sliver, or twelve. You won't be sorry!

Oh, and for you real chefs out there, you could decorate this with little red and green gumdrops made in the shapes of holly leaves and berries. You could also write "Happy Birthday, Jesus!" on the top with butter cream or store bought frosting. The possibilities are endless!

My daughter and I were able to begin a new tradition this year. We got to go out with one of the ladies in our church to deliver goody baskets to some shut-ins and widows. It was a joy to visit these dear folks in our church and show some kindness. I was honored to get to take my nine year old Lauren with me.

My husband snapped this photo of us before we left. I'm sorry I didn't get one of the goody baskets that our church ladies made! They were so cute!

I love serving the Lord! I love serving Him more, however, with my wonderful family! I love making Christ-centered memories with my kids, all year long.

I wish you a Merry Christmas this week, and happy memories that will last a lifetime!

Matthew 1:21 And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

Simple Pleasures

My family is rather strange. Yes, we admit it. We are unique; independent. Weird, okay? My family is weird. Putting a fancy word on it doesn't change the result. We don't go mixed swimming, we don't go to dances or the like and we don't go to movies. See? I told you we were weird! Instead, we enjoy "homebody" things. We like talking together, playing games together and of course, eating together! ☺ Since we will be out of town for the Thanksgiving holiday, I decided to do something special a little early just for the six of us. I am cooking our Thanksgiving meal tonight!! I enjoy doing things for my family. I only wish I could "go all out" every night for them!
There is one movie that I enjoy watching at this time every year, but I haven't been able to see it in quite a while. I first watched it with my Mom and Dad when I was about 14 years old or so. We all enjoyed it immensely. I had once owned it on VHS, but alas, the tape finally bit the dust. That was about four years ago! I had mentioned to my husband that I had seen this very movie for sale on Amazon.com, but it was almost $20!! I was hoping to save up and buy it for myself at some point.
Well, two days ago, as I was planning things for our family dinner, Terry told me that he ordered my movie! In fact, it wasn't just the movie I had wanted, but it was an entire set! He had found a set of movies that was a better deal. Yippee! I have been eagerly watching for the UPS truck to stop by ever since. I have told the children that after our family meal, we'll pull out "my favorite Thanksgiving movie" and watch it together. They have been grilling me for the title since then, but I wouldn't give in...till today! That's right, I just warmly greeted my UPS lady and received my special gift!!

Here's a hint: DORIS DAY!!! Don'tcha just love Doris Day?? ♥

This is the cover of the entire set which consists of seven movies!

Here they are!! The titles are as follows: Romance on the High Seas; My Dream is Yours; I'll See You In My Dreams (biographical movie of Gus Kahn, the man who composed such hits as "It Had to Be You"; "Pretty Baby" and "Carolina in the Mornin'"); On Moonlight Bay; By the Light of the Silvery Moon; Lucky Me

Can you figure out which one we'll be watching?

Here it is!

This is such a touching story. It is inspired by Booth Tarkington's Penrod stories. I love the way it makes you feel afterwards. It doesn't leave you depressed and "blah" the way some newer movies do. It makes you feel good. It makes you want to have a close-knit family.

Here's the sequel! It is equally good!

And here's the man who made it possible!

My husband and I do not have many material possessions. The ones we do have are not as precious to us as our children. Our dear children are eternal possessions! You can't get better than that! Recently in a sermon, my husband said he couldn't think of anything that he wouldn't give up to help one of his children stay close to God. Some would say we're anti-social. Some would say that because we homeschool and refrain from certain practices, that we are trying to shelter our children too much. We disagree. They see plenty of the outside world as we go soulwinning, as we interact with people in businesses, and in their homes, and so forth. Someday they will be able to go out and forge their own path in the world. Our desire is to prepare them for that day, and then be here when they need us. You would never see our U.S. Military sending a new recruit to Iraq without his first having finished Basic Training! No way! The first thing a soldier learns is how to fight and how to have the highest chance of survival. That's what we're doing with our "new recruits". We're training them rigorously in God's Word and by example. We're trying to teach them the way to have the highest chance of survival in the world.

I'm thankful for my close-knit family. I'm thankful for the simple pleasures.

My Daughter, the Door Climber

This is what my children do in their spare time. They climb the doorways. Never let it be said that homeschooled children aren't also athletic! I enjoyed Lauren's little feat, (no pun inteded) and I hope you do to. She came up with her own "script"! :)

Have a fabulous fall weekend, everyone!

We Didn't Like Ike

Along with posting stories from my past, devotional thoughts, and photos of the family here on my blog, I also want to keep you abreast of the latest news in our fair city. Recently, we, along with millions others, were visited by Hurricane Ike. Needless to say, we could have done without that visit! We are thankful that no one here was injured or without power for very long. The Lord was very good to us. We did have some minor damage to trees. In fact, I was surprised at how many, and how large, some of the tree limbs were that fell. I thought you might like a peek at some of the damage in our yard.
We all went out and pitched in cleaning up. The city graciously comes by and picks up and limbs, leaves, etc. and hauls them away for us at no extra charge!! I started out helping, but then I got a little carried away taking pictures of the others helping. I know this was invaluable to them. Of course they wanted photos of their own labor! And I was there to meet this need! I was there cheering them on and encouraging them to bend the knees to protect the back while lifting. Like I said, I was a great asset that day! :)

This limb was the largest one that fell. Only the Lord stopped it from landing on our trampoline, or worse, our children! I saw the rain and wind coming like a troop, drenching all that was in it's path. Our kids, and some neighbor friends were out on our trampoline. I ran out on the back porch and ordered our kids inside, and to hurry!! They scampered inside, as quickly as possible. My little Leslie was the last one in, and was pretty wet. Just then, this giant branch fell to the ground where my little ones had just been. The Lord was so good to us!
A better view. Not sure where that bucket came from. I think it was on our porch. Hmmm.

While I was busy outside picking up limbs, snapping photos and being a great help to my husband, Laci sweetly stood at our front door watching...and enjoying smashing her face against the glass!!
Great job, guys! I gave them the wonderful idea of using the wagon! I told you that I was a great help!! ;)

Go, Lauren, GO!!

Wow, Mitch, you're strong!! Keep up the good work!
Terry is under there. He's asking me to put down the camera and help out. He didn't realize what a great help I was already being by preserving these moments for all our posterity to enjoy.
Teamwork. It warms a Mom's heart! :) This experience is also teaching my children an excellent work ethic.
Our limb pile by the street is growing!!

Whew. I'm worn out. I think I'll go get a glass of tea and put my feet up. Child rearing is hard work.

Hands-On Homeschooling

We enjoy homeschooling. (Most days.) One of the more difficult aspects of homeschooling for me would be completing all of the "hands on" projects. When we do the actual lessons and bookwork, all of my materials are readily available. When we do science projects or art projects, things are not so ready or available. I often do not have things such as red felt, a package of feathers, sequins, or gold braid ready to use. I also do not have the supplies needed for many science projects. Usually. On our first day of school, however, we did have the materials needed to do a few science projects that Lauren's fourth grade book discussed. The first one was a project in which you watch a plant grow. I like plants. They are quiet, neat, and require little care. The second project was how to make"trap" for insects so you could observe them. This one didn't appeal to me too much for some reason. The third one was a project we were supposed to do in third grade science, but did not do because I didn't have frog eggs or tadpoles available. Well, we have a neighbor who has a pool. A frog from somewhere found this pool and thought it a good place to lay eggs. The eggs hatched into tadpoles. So...you guessed it. We now have many little tadpoles swimming around in a jar. We are awaiting their transformation into frogs. (This project is really low on my list people. But, never let it be said that this homeschooling Mom doesn't allow her children to explore God's wonderful creation. No siree. Not me!)
I thought you might enjoy looking at the hard work Lauren has put into her recent scientific endeavors.

Watching the seeds grow was not only a good science project, but was a good Scriptural project as well. We discussed how Jesus said in John 12:24 Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit. (KJV) We were able to see the actual seed covering (seed coat) fall off and die, just as the Bible said. We then saw how the seed brought forth so much more after it died than if it had remained in tact as a seed. This was a great way to discuss that, as Christians, our lives should be given to serve the Lord. We need to "die" to self, and follow Christ and His will. We can see so much more fruit doing this, than by living for pleasure or money. It was a good lesson for all of us! :]

First, we poked holes in the bottom of Styrofoam cups. We then placed pebbles into the cups to prevent the soil from falling out. The holes allowed excess water to drain out. Next came the seeds. We used pinto beans and lima beans because, that's what I had! Lauren wanted to do marigolds, but we never got the seeds. :[

Adding the seeds...the fun part!

We then watered the little cuties.

We then labeled the cups "pinto" or "lima" so we would know which was which. (Are we smart or what?) ;]
Next, we placed a sandwich bag around each cup with a twistie tie. This stayed on until the seeds sprouted. We removed the bag and checked the soil everyday and added water as needed.

Lastly, we placed them on the window sill to get plenty of light! :]

Our next project was the insect trap. Lauren buried a glass, level with the soil, under a bush.

Dad helped too. :]

Then Lauren propped a lid up over the jar using rocks. This kept the jar from getting full of water, but left a space for insects to slide in at.

Lauren had so much fun getting dirty! Here's the finished product! The only insect we caught wasn't an insect at all...it was a spider! :[ We were a little disappointed about that.The plants are growing nicely! This was taken August 21st. We planted them on August 11. They sprouted only a few days later. We labeled them in order that they sprouted, just out of curiosity.Here are the tadpoles. Yuck. I counted over 40. We have since skimmed it down to fifteen, and it will probably be skimmed down even more in the days to come. (Don't tell Lauren.) We change the water every three days or so and feed them pieces of lettuce. They nibble away on it and when it's gone we give them more. All of this in the name of education.Here's our only surviving plant. It is doing nicely. The others didn't make it. We needed to transplant them, and since we didn't, they died. This one, however is still doing well. I took these photos today.I thought it was interesting the way this one is entwining itself around my mini-blind!Here's one more taste of summer photo for you. I love the way Leslie's glancing over at her big sister!I leave you with this photo of Lauren's homemade car. See what I would miss if I didn't homeschool??