Home Educating Family Publishing
Both Sides of the Barn Giveaway, check it out!
Enter to Win
1. "A Journey Home" from Franklin Springs Media
2. "Beside Still Waters" by Tricia Goyer
3. Well Planned Day Planner, 2011-2012
4. 1 year subscription to Home Educating Family Magazine
This prize pack has a value of over $70.
Contest Dates: June 23, 2011 through June 30, 2011.
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Sunday, May 22, 2011
Hastily Thrown Together Baseball Cupcakes!
Ethan's baseball team played so well in one of their last games (and BEAT one of the best teams by 5 or 6 runs, ahem!) that I promised them some treats!!
After a miscommunication and a day of appointments, I only had a very short while to get their much anticipated treats put together. Very quickly I threw some french vanilla cupcakes into the oven and whipped up a batch of buttercream icing. Thankfully I only needed white and a teeny tiny bit of red.
I quickly slathered white icing on the cupcakes and then gave them some red stitches. I then had a container full of {crude} baseballs! The boys LOVED the cupcakes and were so excited that they were actually baseballs. I honestly didnt think they'd notice the baseballs, so I was pleasantly surprised :)
After a miscommunication and a day of appointments, I only had a very short while to get their much anticipated treats put together. Very quickly I threw some french vanilla cupcakes into the oven and whipped up a batch of buttercream icing. Thankfully I only needed white and a teeny tiny bit of red.
I quickly slathered white icing on the cupcakes and then gave them some red stitches. I then had a container full of {crude} baseballs! The boys LOVED the cupcakes and were so excited that they were actually baseballs. I honestly didnt think they'd notice the baseballs, so I was pleasantly surprised :)
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Weekend Visitor...
We had a guest today.. he showed up unannounced (I really hate it when that happens!) and wore out his welcome quickly.
I came outside and found this guy poking his head out of my flowers that sit directly next to my steps! He was draper between two large pots and was about three feet long. We kindly sent him on his way, but not before snapping some pictures of him, he was kinda cute after all. I thought that was the end to the excitement of my day.
Later...
I went out onto our steps, and there he was AGAIN! This time the brazen little reptile was stretched across my steps!! After the initial shock of seeing a SNAKEONMYSTEPSOMG!, I ran back into the house to get the camera again. What!? What would YOU have done? After I snapped the last of the pictures, he slithered off the steps and curled around one of my huge hydragena (um, sp??) bushes. Then I poked him with a big stick to make him scoot along! Im such a bad hostess!
I came outside and found this guy poking his head out of my flowers that sit directly next to my steps! He was draper between two large pots and was about three feet long. We kindly sent him on his way, but not before snapping some pictures of him, he was kinda cute after all. I thought that was the end to the excitement of my day.
Later...
I went out onto our steps, and there he was AGAIN! This time the brazen little reptile was stretched across my steps!! After the initial shock of seeing a SNAKEONMYSTEPSOMG!, I ran back into the house to get the camera again. What!? What would YOU have done? After I snapped the last of the pictures, he slithered off the steps and curled around one of my huge hydragena (um, sp??) bushes. Then I poked him with a big stick to make him scoot along! Im such a bad hostess!
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
New Cakes!!
Ella very recently celebrated her 5th birthday and to commemorate the occasion, I made TWO special cakes for a very special girl! Originally, Id planned a celebration fit for a princess at our local state park, but we'd had a lot of sickness going around, including my dad spening nine days in the hospital and my husband having pneumonia, so I decided to put the big festivites off for a while. We ended up having a small party at home, with just us, on a Sunday afternoon.
Ella wanted a Castle cake and I bought a huge Princess Castle Cake Kit, but it serves over 30 people and since there were only going to be a few of us, I improvised...
I take horrible pictures, and this cake turned out a whole lot cuter than the pictures let on. The cake was 3 layers with pink buttercream icing. I always use Wilton's buttercream icing recipe, minus the milk. I needed a double batch to ice this behemoth! Here are a few more shots of it, because Im super proud ;) It was very tasty, as well!
And of course, the Birthday Girl blowing out her candles (uh, candle)!! I couldnt find a pink #5 anywhere!!
Ella is our only child in school that has her birthday during the school year! The two oldes kids were both born in the summer and Sav was born over Christmas vacation! Ive finally had the chance to make something special for one of my kids to take to school... boy was I excited. It will be my one and only chance as well - next year we'll be homeschoolers! I guess we can have cake any school day we want to, then!
Ella's Pre-K class is very small, and there are only a few three year olds next door so I chose to make a cupcake creation instead of a cake. Ella loves anything pink and truly loves flowers, so thats what I made - pink flowers!! These were super fun and easy! (These were also made w/ Wilton's buttercream icing, minus the milk!)
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy!
Ella wanted a Castle cake and I bought a huge Princess Castle Cake Kit, but it serves over 30 people and since there were only going to be a few of us, I improvised...
I take horrible pictures, and this cake turned out a whole lot cuter than the pictures let on. The cake was 3 layers with pink buttercream icing. I always use Wilton's buttercream icing recipe, minus the milk. I needed a double batch to ice this behemoth! Here are a few more shots of it, because Im super proud ;) It was very tasty, as well!
And of course, the Birthday Girl blowing out her candles (uh, candle)!! I couldnt find a pink #5 anywhere!!
Ella is our only child in school that has her birthday during the school year! The two oldes kids were both born in the summer and Sav was born over Christmas vacation! Ive finally had the chance to make something special for one of my kids to take to school... boy was I excited. It will be my one and only chance as well - next year we'll be homeschoolers! I guess we can have cake any school day we want to, then!
Ella's Pre-K class is very small, and there are only a few three year olds next door so I chose to make a cupcake creation instead of a cake. Ella loves anything pink and truly loves flowers, so thats what I made - pink flowers!! These were super fun and easy! (These were also made w/ Wilton's buttercream icing, minus the milk!)
Thanks for reading, I hope you enjoy!
Wednesday, May 4, 2011
Sunday, April 24, 2011
My Latest Cakes
We recently had our Boy Scout Pack's annual cake auction... I wanted something fun and easy for us to do, and this is what we came up with...
The first is a "Snake Cake".. he could easily be made into a Dragon or Alligator, Im thinking. I made a bunch of devils food cupcakes and a double batch of homemade buttercream icing. I was able to create the "snake" using 24 cupcakes and I needed a 1/4 of one as a filler in one of his diamonds.
The second cake is a Pool. This idea is a variation of another pool cake that I saw online. It is a double layer classic yellow cake, also with homemade buttercream icing. The outside of the pool is alternating dark chocolate and hazelnut pirouline. The little accessories are made out of fondant... and... my HUSBAND made those!!
The cool thing about this cake is that the girl that won it at the auction sat at the back table with her two friends and they ate the ENTIRE thing before the auction was over!! They told me that it was delicious, so I was a happy baker!
Im sorry for the quality of the pictures, Im a horrible food picture taker, unlike my brilliant sister, who gets food pics published on AllRecipes all the time ;). I also want to apologise for the MESS in this picture... I canNOT make a cake without making an ENORMOUS mess, and for some reason I just didnt walk the cake into the dining room for a picture... this was the best one of the cake *rolls eyes in disgust*
This last cake, although it appears to be an Easter Bunny cake, is my daughter Savannah's 7th Birthday cake back from December. Her most favorite thing in the world in yellow bunnies :)
The first is a "Snake Cake".. he could easily be made into a Dragon or Alligator, Im thinking. I made a bunch of devils food cupcakes and a double batch of homemade buttercream icing. I was able to create the "snake" using 24 cupcakes and I needed a 1/4 of one as a filler in one of his diamonds.
The second cake is a Pool. This idea is a variation of another pool cake that I saw online. It is a double layer classic yellow cake, also with homemade buttercream icing. The outside of the pool is alternating dark chocolate and hazelnut pirouline. The little accessories are made out of fondant... and... my HUSBAND made those!!
The cool thing about this cake is that the girl that won it at the auction sat at the back table with her two friends and they ate the ENTIRE thing before the auction was over!! They told me that it was delicious, so I was a happy baker!
Im sorry for the quality of the pictures, Im a horrible food picture taker, unlike my brilliant sister, who gets food pics published on AllRecipes all the time ;). I also want to apologise for the MESS in this picture... I canNOT make a cake without making an ENORMOUS mess, and for some reason I just didnt walk the cake into the dining room for a picture... this was the best one of the cake *rolls eyes in disgust*
This last cake, although it appears to be an Easter Bunny cake, is my daughter Savannah's 7th Birthday cake back from December. Her most favorite thing in the world in yellow bunnies :)
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Seven Times Seventy
7x70 By Chris August - What a song! This is not the official video, for some reason that one would not load for me, but this one would AND it has the lyrics! ENJOY! (but grab a tissue first!)
~Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven. ~ Matthew 18:21-22
~Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy times seven. ~ Matthew 18:21-22
Thursday, March 3, 2011
The City Harmonic - Manifesto (OFFICIAL)
We have a new favorite song 'round these parts!! Our family LOVES this song!! C & I have been jammin' to it for hours! This morning on K-Love, we finally caught the name of the band.. enjoy this AWESOME Praise song and tell us what you think!!
LYRICS:
We believe in the one true God
We believe in Father Spirit Son
We believe that good has won
And all of the people of God sing along
Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen!
We are free He died and lives again
We will be a people free from sin
Well be free a kingdom with no end
And all of the people of God sing along
Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen, yeah!
Our Father who art in Heaven,
Hallowed by Thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who have trespassed against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For thine Is the kingdom,
power and the glory forever.
We're singin!
Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen, yeah!
LYRICS:
We believe in the one true God
We believe in Father Spirit Son
We believe that good has won
And all of the people of God sing along
Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen!
We are free He died and lives again
We will be a people free from sin
Well be free a kingdom with no end
And all of the people of God sing along
Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen, yeah!
Our Father who art in Heaven,
Hallowed by Thy name.
Thy kingdom come,
Thy will be done,
On Earth as it is in Heaven.
Give us our daily bread,
And forgive us our trespasses,
As we forgive those who have trespassed against us.
Lead us not into temptation,
But deliver us from evil,
For thine Is the kingdom,
power and the glory forever.
We're singin!
Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen! Amen, yeah!
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Happy 107th Birthday Dr. Suess!!
Oh boy do we love Dr. Suess!! Dr Suess' birthday week is always a fun time.. the kids school has a fun week of silly things to do like, mismatched socks day, crazy hair day and crazy hat day. We print off Dr Suess coloring pages and read allll our Dr Suess books. We ♥ him, he was just plain awesome!
Did you know that Dr Suess' name actually was pronounced "soice", rhyming with voice? Here is a little poem I found written by a colleague of his:
You’re wrong as the deuce
And you shouldn’t rejoice
If you’re calling him Seuss.
He pronounces it Soice.
Here are a few wonderful quotes from Dr Suess that I really like.
~“Today you are You, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is Youer than You.”
~“Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind don't matter and those who matter don't mind.”
~“I have heard there are troubles of more than one kind. Some come from ahead and some come from behind. But I've bought a big bat. I'm all ready you see. Now my troubles are going to have troubles with me!”
~“The more that you read, the more things you will know. The more that you learn, the more places you'll go.”
And my two favorites!!
~"I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living, It's a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, And that enables you to laugh at life's realities."
~"Adults are just obsolete children and the hell with them."
Have a wonderful birthday in Heaven, Dr. Suess!!
Friday, February 25, 2011
I never get tired of talking about DEALS!
Even though my latest deals are grrrrreat, they make for pretty boring pictures... I chose the above picture, because darnit, Im ready for spring and it is inching ever so closer.. its pretty dern tootin funny too!
My three most favorite recent favorite deals occured yesterday. Ive found that SOME Walmarts (but God knows, certainly NOT ALL OF THEM) will accept competitors coupons, so I was able to use a $5.00 off any Pedia Sure product coupon from Food Lion, at Walmart (where it is much cheaper!) and got Caleb a 6 pack for $4.98 instead of $9.98. Cool, deal number one.
Deal number two. I had a Q for $.75 cents off a pound of Perdue ground chicken. Found one pack, marked down to $1.70, so I got a pound for .90 cents!! Sweet! Ground chicken is theee best meat to make tacos out of!
And deal three... Im super proud of this one! Ketchup practically stands alone as a food group in this house. If it didnt take such a ridiculous amount of tomatoes to make it, I would make our own! Anyway, I had TWO coupons for .35 cents off each of any Hunts Ketchup, and then one $1.00 off of any two Hunts Ketchups... I was getting excited!! I picked up two 24 oz Hunts Ketchups @ $1.24 each for a total of $2.48. Minus my $1.00 = 1.48, and minus .70 = .78 for 2 bottles of Ketchup, or .39 each. COOLEST stuff in the world to me!
I so ♥ saving money, you canNOT tell me you dont love a deal like these!!
Tuesday, February 22, 2011
VOTE FOR CALEB!
Please go here and read the instructions on how to vote for my beautiful baby boy in a baby model contest. Silly of me to wait so long, but the contest ends on 2/23/2011 @ NOON eastern time. Please read ALL the rules, because you must "like" the photographers facebook page, which you can find here and follow her blog. My Caleb is picture 7 of 14, but he is the 6th child... you can pick him out easily, not only because he is SUPER cute, but he is SUPER excited in his picture, with his hands thrown up. This is a copy of his picture and Jackie, the wonderfully, amazingly talented photgrapher, took it herself..
THANKS and get voting (FOR CALEB!!)
THANKS and get voting (FOR CALEB!!)
Thursday, February 3, 2011
Newness :)
Ive been having some serious issues with the ol' puter the last few months, but finally, one is totally fixed and ready to be used! Alot has happened since the last time I was here... ok, before that January post I mean, but I am still snapping up ridiculous deals anytime I can. Here are two of my latest STEALS!
So, Ive been wanting to read this book, Amish Peace, by Suzanne Woods Fisher for some time now, but at Family Christian Store where I shop, its $12.99. I would (or could) never, never in a box, never, never with a fox, pay $12.99for a book I dont truly need! Anywho, in January my patience paid off because the book went on sale for half price (6.49) AND, I had a $5.00 off any purchase coupon, so I got it for $1.49!! SCORE!
Now, I also happened across this cutie patootie Veggie Tale, George the Grape, at the same store. He was regularly $14.99, a big no-no, in my book. However, George was marked down 90%!!! Whooot! And, since he was in with another purchase that I had a 25% off my total order coupon, I got another percentage off of him and ending up paying a whopping $1.12 for a fifteen dollar toy!!
I SO love my productive shopping trips!
Ps - Yesterday I got 4 enormous rolls (these 4 rolls = 10 regular rolls) of Scott "green done right" toilet paper for .68 cents. Aaaah, such a tough job, but someone has to do it!!
So, Ive been wanting to read this book, Amish Peace, by Suzanne Woods Fisher for some time now, but at Family Christian Store where I shop, its $12.99. I would (or could) never, never in a box, never, never with a fox, pay $12.99for a book I dont truly need! Anywho, in January my patience paid off because the book went on sale for half price (6.49) AND, I had a $5.00 off any purchase coupon, so I got it for $1.49!! SCORE!
Now, I also happened across this cutie patootie Veggie Tale, George the Grape, at the same store. He was regularly $14.99, a big no-no, in my book. However, George was marked down 90%!!! Whooot! And, since he was in with another purchase that I had a 25% off my total order coupon, I got another percentage off of him and ending up paying a whopping $1.12 for a fifteen dollar toy!!
I SO love my productive shopping trips!
Ps - Yesterday I got 4 enormous rolls (these 4 rolls = 10 regular rolls) of Scott "green done right" toilet paper for .68 cents. Aaaah, such a tough job, but someone has to do it!!
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
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