Happy Summer!

Well, it's officially summer now, and for children family, the summer break has been in full swing for a few weeks.  But, it hasn't been much of a break so far!  It seems it's been just as busy as during the school year, but a different kind of busy.  A fun busy. (Not that school isn't fun, but you know what I mean :).

Anyway, just wanted to let you know I would be taking a few weeks off from blogging. I'll be "out of pocket" and not able to post for those weeks.

I'll see you back after the 4th of July weekend! Doesn't that sound strange!??

Have a great week.

Garlic Butter

Some recipes you just know you will like without even trying them, don't you?  This is one that I know I will and my family will, as well.

Garlic Butter
(recipe from Denyse on AllRecipes.com)

1 cup butter, softened 1 tablespoon minced garlic 1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese 1 tablespoon garlic salt

1 teaspoon Italian seasoning 1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper 1/4 teaspoon ground paprika

DIRECTIONS:

In a small bowl, combine softened butter, minced garlic and parmesan cheese. Season with garlic salt, Italian seasoning, pepper and paprika. Mix until smooth.

Our 25th Wedding Anniversary

This is us now. Below you'll see a picture of us on our wedding day. We're celebrating 25 years of marriage today! You can see we've changed some. We weigh more and our hair has changed. One of us is a lot gray-er and the other of us is fighting the gray all of the time!

This past weekend we took a getaway trip to the Dallas area. We arrived home to see this big chalk sign on the driveway spelling out, "Happy Anniversary, Dad and Mom!". It was nice to be able to leave for the weekend and know everything was okay with our just-graduated-daughter in charge!

These past 25 years have gone by quickly. We pray we have at least that more to go in the future! We thank God for His blessings in our lives, and pray that we are living our life together in a way that is pleasing Him.

Chicken Salad

Here is a recipe for chicken salad, knowing I already have one or two others on here to choose from! If you don't like the pecans, leave them out!

CHICKEN SALAD

4 cups chicken breast chopped
1 1/2 cups sliced seedless grapes
1/2 - 3/4 cup chopped celery (to your liking)
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3/4 cup pecans
1 cup mayonnaise

Mix all ingredients and stir together and store in airtight container. Refrigerate leftovers or until ready to serve.
 

Gluten-Free Ice Cream

We were excited to get a Cuisinart Ice Cream maker a few days ago, and pulled it out of the box to make a sweet treat immediately. After help from my husband, I got the contraption together properly, put the ingredients into the proper place, and began spinning the machine. Nothing happened.  I checked again and again, but it wasn't getting cold.  Finally, I tasted the ingredients. They were a little warm. Odd.  It's an ice cream maker and it's not getting cold.

My husband asked if I read the directions to the machine.  Me???  Well, no! I don't like to read directions! (Sad, yes. He's the one willing to stop for directions when traveling, not me.  Not typical for most males/females.)  So, I read the directions.  And quickly learned that I should have frozen the ingredient holder for 16-24 hours.  Just a minor set back in our quest for the gluten-free sweet treat.

Last night I made the dessert.  I used the recipe at the link here.  I used almond milk and brown sugar, but there are many options you can adjust to your liking.

I hope you enjoy! But, if you are also using a Cuisinart machine, I might suggest that you follow the directions the first time.

Jesus on the Cross Craft

Last week was our Vacation Bible School.  The theme was "It's a Blue Ribbon Life".  I have several posts about it on my "Shine Like Stars" blog, but wanted to share a few crafts with you that my 1st and 2nd graders did in class.  I'm not a fan of using general crafts, but strictly want it to be crafts that are directed towards the Bible lesson that we are learning each day.

The lesson on the last day was about Jesus dying on the cross.  I had bought these large people shaped cutouts at Mardel and decided to let them be Jesus.  I didn't want the kids to color too much or make them look pretty or cute or anything, so did the craft along with them, telling them each step to do.  

First they glued their "Jesus" to the construction paper cross.  Next they drew simple eyes, a nose, and a mouth. We talked about how Jesus wouldn't have been smiling, so they decided a straight across mouth was best.

Next they drew the crown of thorns on his head. As they drew we talked about how that would have felt.

We talked about how the nails were in His hands and feet, but I didn't want to cross the legs how they probably were, but just let the kids draw nails on each hand and foot.  I could tell they were really thinking about the nails as they drew.

And, of course, we talked about the fruit of the Spirit, LOVE.....and how Jesus' death on the cross was because of His love for each and every one of us.  They placed a red heart with the words, "Jesus Loves Me This I Know" on the center of Jesus. 

Lastly, we talked about how Jesus' side was pierced. Some drew a line for that....some didn't.

I pray that this craft touched the hearts of each of the students that day.  I pray it touches your heart, as well.  Jesus DOES love us! So much that He gave His life for us!  Thank you, God, for your plan.

Oven Roasted Marshmallows

This isn't a recipe, but just an idea my mom told us about when she was visiting recently.

When you can't have a real fire, you can still enjoy roasted marshmallows right from your oven! Just simply put big marshmallows out on a baking sheet and broil them in the oven.  Watch closely to get them browned or burned to your liking!  Quick, easy, and yummy!

A New Parenting Venture

I realize this is a craft/recipe blog, but many of you may know I also write a devotion blog.  This post is to inform you of something new my husband and I are doing together.  It's a parenting blog with a Christian perspective.  If you're interested, here is more about this new venture:

My husband and I would like to announce a new venture....a new ministry, actually.....that we began a few days ago.  We've started a new website/blog and Facebook group called, "Parents After God's Own Heart".  This is something we've discussed and thought about off and on for a few years, but weren't sure if the time was right for our family.  However, since our daughter just graduated from high school and is "raised" for the most part, and the youngest will be in his final year of elementary school in the fall, it seemed like the right time to do it.  We've got some experience under our belts, but are still in the parenting process enough to know what's going on in today's world.  Not newbies and not old fogies, I guess (maybe?? :) )

We covet your prayers as we begin this new ministry.  It is our prayer that God will always be glorified in everything we say and do. We're not sure where God will decide to grow this ministry.  We'll leave it up to Him. Eventually we've thought about the possibility of parenting workshops, and maybe even a book or two, but, we're not planning too much.  God will lead, and we're not going to get too busy in that stuff while we're still in the parenting phase, itself.  We've got three boys to finish raising!  They need us and that is our most important priority.

If you would like to visit the website, it is located at www.parentsaftergodsownheart.com.

The Facebook group link is at this address: https://www.facebook.com/ParentsAfterGodsOwnHeart