The Boxcar Children #1

Kylan has been struggling with reading for the past couple of years and we've tried all different kinds of curriculum's like My Father's World, Saxon Phonics, Hooked on Phonics and just practice, practice and more practice and he still was just not "getting" it until I told him about The Boxcar Children books and I told him that he was going to read the first one to me. He did NOT like that idea and he cried and cried and said he couldn't do it but I insisted and told him I would help him out if he needed help with words and then I told that it was an adventure book because these kids get to live on their own in an old train boxcar and he wanted to know where the parents were so I said we just have to read the book and find out. He started in on the book and I quickly realized that he can read and he can read VERY well! I'm guessing that he just wasn't motivated before now or not interested or something but he finished the book and we are moving on to book #2 Surprise Island and he can't wait to see what the surprise is. We are in the middle of making a diorama of the boxcar and the children with the stream and everything. I will post when it's finished. Kylan wants to have a boxcar in our back yard but I told him we couldn't have an actual boxcar so we are going to put the tent up in the spring and him and Kenzie are going to "play" boxcar children. If you have any fun ideas regarding the boxcar series please leave comment!
I found some great printables on edHelper.com, they have a whole book report and comprehension questions for each boxcar book so it's well worth the $20 they charge for their service!

Mika's Penne Pasta

• 8 ounces uncooked penne pasta, cooked and drained
• 1 (14 1/2 ounce) can diced tomatoes with basil oregano and garlic
• 1 (6 ounce) jar marinated artichoke hearts, diced
• 1 (2 1/2 ounce) jar black olives, sliced
• 1/2 cup parmesan cheese, shredded

Directions

1. 
   

   In medium saucepan or skillet over high heat, bring tomatoes, black olives and artichokes, including marinade, to a boil.

2. 
   

   Lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

3. 
   

   Place pasta in serving bowl and pour artichoke sauce over pasta.

4. 
   

   Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and serve.

More snow...

Measuring in the front yard

Measuring in the backyard

Looking across the street

More snow

Poor Trix his little legs just can't make it in all this snow

The deck stairs

This was this morning

Well, since my last post it has continued to snow and they are saying 4" of snow in Tulsa but we are north of Tulsa and typically get more snow then they do and of course today was no exception! We are at about 6" right now and it's still snowing!!!

Ice storm 2010

All of the weather forecasts were predicting that the 2010 ice storm would be just as bad or worse then the 2007 ice storm but so far they have been wrong click on the 2007 ice storm link to see the photos from then and take a look at the photos from today.....we are so thankful it hasn't gotten that bad and that we haven't lost power this year! Right now it's snowing and we are so thankful for that, it's much easier to get around in snow then ICE!!! It looks like we have about 3" right now and will probably add another 3" or so to that by the end of the day....look out sledding hills here we come!

Girls Club Valentine Cookie

Makenzie is in this girls club that meets once per month and they do all kinds of fun things like crocheting, cake decorating, craft projects and they also do community service projects. This week they made Valentine cookies and decorated them and then they made a little mouse out of hershey's kisses.

Kylan's hair

Kylan's dance team is called Lil' Force and they decided to use this green spray and make their hair green for dance competition. Since Kylan's hair is black I wasn't sure it would work on him but it did and almost looks like he's growing grass on his head. If you want/need some green glittering hair color you can buy it for $2 in the party isle at Wal-Mart and the brand is Party Success and of course it's temporary so it washes out easily!

Christmas card traditions

We have a Christmas card tradition at our house and I just wanted to share it with you! Every year after Christmas is over and all of the decorations are down I take all of the cards and every night when we have dinner we pull a card out of a basket that I store all the cards in and we pray for that family. It reminds us to pray for all of our friends and family and we get to see your picture or at least read a little note about how your family is!

If you didn't get a card from us in 2009 then here it is!

Duct tape jacket

For dance this year Kylan's team all needed to have matching jackets or vests and they are supposed to be black and bright green so that was hard to find until one of the mom's came up with the idea to duct tape their costume. It was fun and super easy. All you need is plenty of duct tape in your color (whatever that might be) and a t-shirt that's a little big on your child. Start in the back and duct tape long strips and make sure they overlap each other. Work small pieces around the arm holes and the neck. When the shirt is totally covered then cut it up the front and ta da it's a duct tape jacket or vest. We are going to finish it later with cool sleeves and do something crazy with the collar but not sure what.

Here are some websites that have more duct tape costumes on them
Duct tape super heroes
Duct tape fashions
Duct tape proms outfits
Duct Tape Guys

Amish Cinnamon Friendship Bread...YUM!

My friend Dacia gave me a bag of friendship bread and the recipe to go with it and it's been laying on the counter for the past week and a half getting a squeeze every time one of the kids notices it and today was the big day to bake the bread. OHHHHHH, it's really yummy and so moist! Do you have any friendship bread recipes that you love. I had not done friendship bread in YEARS I'm talking like 10 yrs...something I just forgot about I guess. Anyway who wants a starter of friendship bread??? Let me know and I will bring some over!

AMISH FRIENDSHIP STARTER

1 c. sugar 1 c. milk 1 c. flour Combine ingredients in a large, deep glass or plastic container. Cover lightly. If the container has a lid, leave it slightly open, or place a piece of cheesecloth over the container and secure it with a rubber band. Store at room temperature. Stir every day for 17 days. On the 18th day do nothing. On the 19, 20 and 21, stir. On day 22 stir and add 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Stir again. On days 23, 24, 25 and 26 stir. On day 27, add 1 cup flour, 1 cup milk and 1 cup sugar. Stir. You should have about 4 cups starter. Give 1 cup each to two friends and keep the remaining two cups for yourself. Use one in Amish Friendship Bread recipe (which follows) and use the other to keep the starter going. When you give away the starter, include these instructions. How to keep a starter going: Do not refrigerate and do not use a metal spoon when stirring. On day 1 (the day you receive you starter) do nothing. Days, 2 3, and 4, stir. On day 5, stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk. Pour mixture into large glass mixing bowl; cover lightly. Mixture will rise. On days, 6, 7, 8 and 9, stir. On day 10, stir in 1 cup flour, 1 cup sugar and 1 cup milk and stir. Give 1 cup each to two friends, keeping one cup to make the bread and one cup for your starter.

AMISH FRIENDSHIP BREAD:

1 c. Amish friendship starter (from above recipe)
1 c. vegetable oil
2 c. flour
1 c. sugar
3 eggs
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 - 1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 c milk
1 lg box instant pudding...any flavor but we used vanilla

If you want you can add 1/2 cup raisins, chocolate chips, nuts, dates, apples, etc. (of your choice)

Combine all ingredients and mix well. Place batter in a well greased and sugared 9x5x3 loaf pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Cool 10 minutes before removing from pan. They also make great muffin (we made muffins and bread)

My favorite lipstick EVER!!

Over the years I've used many, many different brands of lipstick and they are all pretty close to the same as far as I could tell until I tried Revlon ColorStay Ultimate Lipcolor in #1 Nude and let me tell you it ROCKS!!! You put it on in the morning and don't have to worry about it again all day long and I've had many people ask me about it especially when I've been scrapbooking for hours and hours and then we ate dinner and nobody ever saw me re-touch my lipstick because I hadn't!! It really does last and last and as you can tell by the picture I need some more because mine is gone! If you have a favorite make up and you love it please post about it or leave me a comment.

Homemade coasters

This year for Christmas and some birthdays Kylan and I made homemade coasters. All you do is go to Home Depot or Lowe's and buy some plain tiles. Bring them home and add cute accents to them (you can use a cricut to cut crosses or fleur-de-lis, or even put a monogram on them and you can use stickers, rub ons or even pictures, they have to be flat) then modge podge over them and let it dry for at least 24 hours then apply a sealer to them, we used a spray on sealer and when they are totally dry and sealed then add felt to the bottom. We used the little peel off circles and we also used the self adhesive sheets from Hobby Lobby. Everyone loved them and Kylan was so proud of himself for making some gifts. Oh, you can also paint them if you want to and use sharpie markers to draw pictures (for kids).

Admitting you have a problem is the 1st step...

I'm not the one that has the problem, well at least not the one I'm talking about. I have many problems and I'm not perfect nor do I claim to be but my children have a HUGE addiction to the Wii! They would play it 24/7 if I would let them and it's not just one certain game they love all of them but mostly Lego Indiana Jones 2, My Sims Kingdom and Sims II Castaway. Do you or your kids have a video game addiction???? I'm kinda addicted to Facebook but I'm trying to wean myself off of it!

Lincoln Logs

Our kids have really enjoyed playing with Lincoln Logs over the past couple of years and this year when Kevin's parents asked what they wanted they both told them Lincoln Logs and Grandpa ended up finding a pink set for Kenzie, wow was she so excited and happy about that! We are using the Prairie Primer curriculum this year which requires that you read all of the Little House books so while we listen to them on CD the kids play with their Lincoln Logs and I crochet. I was so happy to find these books on tape because I read to my kids ALL of the time and they read to me but this was something a little different for us and we have really enjoyed them. Do you have a favorite books series that you have listened to on tape or CD??? Let me know what it is. Over the summer I am thinking about trying to find The Chronicles of Narnia on CD!

Look who fell asleep during dinner!

Poor Kenzie was so tired after dance class the other night that she fell asleep while she was eating dinner. She always gives 100% during dance and leaves class just covered in sweat and very tired and this night was no exception. Kevin carried her up to bed and she didn't even know she had fallen asleep during dinner until the next morning when we told her.

A 2 year old in the house changes everything!

Friday night we babysat a friends 2 yr old and let me tell you having a 2 yr old in the house changes EVERYTHING!!! She was so cute and a very good girl but it's just different and she had endless amounts of energy, when her parents picked her up at almost midnight she was still wide awake and going strong, don't you just wish we could bottle up all that energy and sell it or at least keep it for ourselves! LOL!!! Makenzie and Kylan enjoyed playing with her and told us that they have been praying for a baby in our house.......

Girls just want to have fun!

All Kylan wanted to do was play video games

At least these girls just wanted to have fun. On Friday our coop had to cancel our homeschool meeting so we asked friends to come over and play. They built a fort in Kenzie's room, crocheted, sang and danced like crazy! It was a fun time and we can't wait to have them over again for more fun! Oh, I had video of them dancing and singing and it's too cute!

Frozen bubbles

Our breath was so warm that they wouldn't freeze right away and you had to wait, I wish we would have gotten our bubble blower out, that would have been really cool!

It was cold waiting for them to freeze!

This one is frozen

So is this one

We have a bubble science experiment kit and the kids have been having so much fun doing all of the bubble experiments in it but we couldn't do the frozen bubble experiment because it's been so warm in Oklahoma until the past week, it's been FREEZING which is exactly what we needed. All you do is go outside and blow bubbles in the cold and they actually freeze and you can play with them longer then normal bubbles and when they POP you see tiny ice flying in the air, it's very cool! And they make beautiful pictures if you have a great camera and if you want to see these click here this guy has a great camera and captured some magnificent photos of frozen soap bubbles, they are just amazing click through all of his photos to see the bubbles burst in the air and you can even see the ice crystals!

The Love Dare Challenge

Last year we saw the movie Fireproof and we LOVED it so much, it's a great family movie and brings up a lot of discussion with the kids. I've been wanting to read The Love Dare that they talk about in the movie ever since I saw the movie but just didn't do it, no excuses, just didn't do it for some reason. I found out about The Love Dare Challenge and decided now was the perfect time and so far it's going great...Kevin doesn't know that I'm doing it either so don't tell him! If you want to participate in it then click here. It ends on Valentines Day so this would be a great way to show your special someone that you love them throughout this and next month and not just on Valentines Day! Let me know how it works out for you! Our marriage isn't in trouble or have problems or anything like that, we have been married for 17 yrs and we are still in love but what marriage can't be improved???

Reading challenge

Everyone that knows me probably knows that I LOVE to read and that I read a lot in my spare time (spare time what is that). Anyway one of my blogger buddies Michelle is joining a reading challenge and last year the challenge was to read 100 books and she made it through 9 books, I'm proud of her because if you aren't a reader that's pretty good!!! I on the other hand will probably finish the 100 book challenge pretty early in the year. I really don't know how many books I read a year but it's a bunch especially if I find a good series that I get really interested in. Last year I read the whole Yada Yada Prayer Group series and loved it so much! If you have a great series or even just a single book leave me a comment so I can read it too!
The link to the 100 book reading challenge is right here so sign up today.

The books that I read will be posted in a sidebar.

New Year's Eve 2009...plans have changed

Feeling better, right before he was sent home!

Some of the visitor..this round was family!

This year we planned our annual New Year's Eve party again and plans quickly changed. Dec. 31st we were putting up Christmas decorations and I was making snacks and getting things ready for the party and Kevin was outside shoveling the walks so none of our guests would slip and fall. I walked into the living room and noticed that Kevin had collapsed by our front door so I ran over and started shaking him and calling his name for about 3 minutes and was just getting ready to call 911 when he came to and said, "Oh, I'm fine" and went and got into bed and started watching the OU game. I was very concerned so I called my sis in law Tiffany and talked to her and she didn't like it and wanted me to call 911 immediately. Kevin didn't want to go and said he would be just fine so I started call everyone and cancelling the party because I just didn't feel right about continuing with the party when he had passed out. I was watching Kevin and he started shaking and was mumbling and slurring his words so I went ahead and called 911 they got here in like 2 minutes...the were VERY quick! Makenzie had called my mom and she was on her way but was till about 20 minutes away and I really wanted to be at the hospital with Kevin and all of the sudden a neighbor from around the corner stops at our house and runs up to the door and says she will stay with the kids until someones else can get here....Thank you Jesus and thank you Shelly! I follow the ambulance and can see them working on Kevin starting an I.V. etc and as I'm driving I'm calling people to start praying for Kevin and to let family know that we are headed to the hospital, I get in touch with our friend Christy and ask her if one of them can go to our house until my mom gets there and her husband is at Reasors so he heads over to stay with the kids until my mom gets there.

I'm so thankful for our family and friends that helped us during this time!!! Thanks everyone that helped, either by prayer, bringing food or drinks, or just visiting we appreciate all of you!

We get to the hospital and there are not any rooms available in the ER until the ER drivers insist that they get Kevin a room ASAP! They find him one quickly and send me out to the waiting room. I ask several times to go back and be with Kevin but they won't let me so I was totally freaking out and then Korey and Tiffany show up (Kevins brother and SIL) and I calmed down some. They finally let us back with Kevin and he is still out of it, not really knowing what is going on, slurring his words, talking gibberish and looks HORRIBLE! Before you know it a bunch of people start showing up in the waiting room to check on Kevin because wouldn't you know it my phone has totally lost power!!! We are so thankful for our church family because several of them showed up to pray with Kevin and to just be there for him. After many hours in the ER the doctor decided to admit Kevin to the hospital and to run a bunch of tests on him, please don't ask me to name them all because I can't ever remember all of them it was a very confusing, frustrating night and New Year's Day was just a day of waiting for more tests to be run. Kevin and I hardly got any sleep that night because the nurses kept coming in about every 30 min. to run tests and then his monitors kept going off all night too...it was a LOOOOOOOOOOONG night! About 5ish on Jan. 1st, 2010 they released him with the diagnosis of extreme exhaustion. HMMMM, working UPS for the past 4 months at least 60 hours per week and not taking his lunch breaks on most days just might do that to you huh! So if you happen to see Kevin please tell him to take it easy and get some rest! He needs that reminder from EVERYONE!!!

We've had many people call and ask if we need anything and I just wanted to thank all of you! Christy R has set up a calendar of meals and we really appreciate her hard work!!! Thanks Christy for all that you do for others you are not only Super Mom but a Super Friend too!!