Presidents Program

Last week both 1st grade classroom's at AW Spalding {where Kayden goes to school} put on a "President's Program"! The teachers & students put a LOT of hard work into this evening!

Each child had a specific role they played

Kayden was Clara Barton....a nurse how fitting!

Every bit of the 2 hours was enjoyed by both young & old!

"E is for equality! America's laws demand it!!"

"I am Clara Barton, I was known as the angel of the battle field during the Cival War & I founded the American Red Cross"

They sang LOTS of songs....LOVED IT!

They each had a poster they had made & had to present to the audience

Couldn't be a prouder momma or daddy out there! You're LOVED Clara Barton!

{thankful through pictures friday}

{a day set aside to list out some gifts i've found throughout the week & adding them to my running list of 1000 gifts!....captured through a lens}

32. Making time for "quiet time" & usually once a week getting a full hour to "listen to God"....whether through prayer, books, or the Bible

{don't judge indeed I do like a little coffee with my creamer!}

33. Swirly clouds & breathing taking colors as the sun was saying goodnight

34. What young eyes are appreciative of when handed the camera

{photo courtesy of Emery 5 y/o}

35. A HUGE mess that is growing as the sale {where I will be a vendor selling "Pencil Rolls for Him"} is just around the corner

36. A family who has seemingly just decided that this mess is "normal" for right now & tolerant of it!

37. Kayden's {my 7 y/o} love for bugs.....she excitedly found this on my back, lovingly removed it, & set it free outside

38. Free afternoons to do as we please

39. Radio/CD player in my kitchen......danced Friday afternoon away by myself....looked COOKOO I'm sure but I had the best time!

40. Veggies added to ordinary spaghetti sauce & instantly it became extraordinary

41. Grocery shopping & cooking with my mom & sister Friday......we made a GREAT team in getting ready for a "hospitality breakfast" for church Saturday morning

42. Prayer.......the ability at a moments notice to fall silent & speak with God the concerns or joys of our hearts

rainbows....clouds...gold

Typically when I think of St Patrick's Day I think of ALL THINGS GREEN! But when I spotted these rainbow cupcakes I knew instantly that the girls HAD to share these with their friends at school! We could all use a little "luck of the Irish" eh?!!

Pretty easy but SUPER time consuming......1/2 way through & 1030 pm I went into "can I back out of this" thinking mode?!! I am NOT a night owl.....espcially when I am up alone! But sometimes just the thought of making your kids smile {or other people for that matter} keeps you going & it did....till midnight to be precise!!

Batter separated into 6 different bowls & turned into 6 different colors {pretty sure my grandmother would have gone nuts if she saw ALL the food coloring I had to use....she was NOT a fan of food coloring!}

Then I layered color after color to represent the rainbow {insert time consuming part!} but the end result was pretty great......especially if you cut the cupcake right down the middle!

Topped off with white icing & last minute I added yellow sprinkles {not pictured} to represent the gold at the end of the rainbow!

Pretty certain there were 4 teachers & 46 kids feelin' pretty lucky on 3/17/11!

{thankful through pictures friday}

{a day set aside to list out some gifts i've found throughout the week & adding them to my running list of 1000 gifts!....captured through a lens}

This last week appears to have had a lot of FOOD thankfuls! Must be that Zimmerman, Oster, or Hughes in me! LOVE ME SOME FOOD!

18. Hot Steel Cut Oats with peaches.....running late one morning & this was just what I needed in the car on a cold rainy morning!

19. This mug which holds footprints of my oldest neice around 18 months....she's 11 y/o now!! So I love to be constantly reminded that she was a teeny baby at one point!

20. Bravery! I am so painfully shy when it comes to being up front {picture classroom setting} & my girls appear to be taking after me! So when Kayden was called on for help this last week at our local kids museum you can be certain this mother was PROUD & THANKFUL!

21. Tomatos & Avocados {& a bit of Vegenaise....LOVE that stuff!} on a Whole Wheat bagel with carrots & hummus!22. A free day to play for 7 full whole hours with my 2 girls at the Creative Discovery Museum....they never tire of that place!
23. Using up almost empty about to go bad food & making a meal of it!
24. A store easily accessible for me to grab a few impulsive cravings!
25. Haystack....or as a non-Adventist may call it "taco salad" full of veggies & beans & chips!
26. Angel Food Cake topped with strawberries and cool whip.....so NOT in season but thankful for a store that carries them season round! YUMMO!
27. Clear dark sky, lit up only by the downtown city lights, on my drive into work this morning.....I do not live in a country devasted by war & gunfire lighting up with sky instead of city lights.

28. Morning worship through my beautiful Christian music CD gifted to me by a beautiful friend {thanks CHAP!!!}......I felt VERY connected to God this morning!

29. A messy messy corner of our living room/kitchen......it shows of pencil rolls being sewn for an upcoming consignment sale! I signed up to be a VENDOR! Praying God will BLESS MY EFFORTS!

30. Calm uneventful drive to work this morning.....I live in a country which is not devestated by tsunami's or earthquakes. Praying for all of JAPAN!

31. A friend & ALL of her family found ALIVE & SAFE in Japan! GOD IS GOOD!!!

Birthday & Cooking!

2 Mondays ago was 2/21......my beautiful mothers birthday! We spent almost 3 VERY FUN hours in the kitchen of Mia Cucina taking a cooking class!! Crepe making.......omletta {as we call them in German!}! We grew up eating these.....the kind my grandparents made were thicker & made with buttermilk but these were yummy too AND I've never made one myself so it was fun to get my hands wet!

Marcy-Owner & Teacher had us practice flipping them without using a spatula......everyone did pretty good!

i

Several ladies from mom's work joined her for the class. We paired off into 3 groups to make 3 different crepes recipes!

PERFECT!

Roasted Pears & Blue Cheese- these were baked and then rolled into a crepe.....HEAVEN!

Indian Spiced Chicken & Creamed Spinach Crepes

For desert- Crepes Suzette Cups with Ice Cream & Orange Butter Sauce!

DELISH!!! We all left STUFFED & HAPPY! A fun afternoon & even better......a fun few hours spent celebrating my mom's birthday!

I won't divulge her age but she looks AWESOME for the 2 numbers she represents!

LOVE YOU M-O-M!

{thankful through pictures friday}

{a day set aside to list out some gifts i've found throughout the week & adding them to my running list of 1000 gifts!....captured through a lens}

10. GORGEOUS sunset

11. Empty suitcases after vacation.....usually this can take me over a week to empty due to being in denial about the return to reality!

12. A room that started getting painted by the husband while the girls & I vacationed {that should be a double thankful! this guy i found is a good one!}

13. A cousin who came to the house for a sleepover & kept my girls in a dreamy baby state of mind

14. A humidifier loaned to us by Aumie for these congested girls

15. A box of Girl Scout cookies.....not for the lbs's it will add to my hips but rather the little girl {maddie} who sold them to us! She has a NASTY kind of cancer, thankful that she is healthy enough RIGHT NOW to sell cookies! {and p.s. she could use ALL of your prayers!!}

16. Snail Mail! I got 2 packages several weeks ago. One from a give-a-way I won {that cute blue hand made beaded bracelet below}. And one from a friend {who by the way is AMAZINGLY good & consistent with sending snail mail} who sent me a SUPER FUN Christian CD!! {if you thought you couldn't rock out to Christian music think again}

17. That I have Epilepsy......cause I could have something far worse.