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big sisters
These photos of Sawyer with two of his “big sisters” were taken while our church’s youth choir was on tour in Colorado. I think Sawyer enjoys having the older girls dote on him!
elefante giveaway
photo by Susan B. Anderson
Is he the cutest little knitted elephant you’ve ever seen or what?! This little guy was knitted by Susan Anderson, author of Itty-Bitty Hats and Itty-Bitty Nursery. Susan is having a giveaway right now ~ you could win this elephante! Just go to Susan’s site and leave her a comment. The contest ends Friday, April 11 at 12:00pm Central time.
abc’s of living simply
My bloggy friend Joanne Heim has written several books. I’ve mentioned her book Living Simply in several posts. In conjunction with this particular book, Joanne has posted on her blog The ABCs of Living Simply. They’re downloadable ideas to print on 4×6 cards for living simply that you can put into practice. Just click on the button at the top of this post to see Joanne’s wonderful ideas!
the ornament tour
y bloggy friend Meredith has posted about her favorite Christmas tree ornaments. I thought that was a great idea ~ so here’s my contribution to what I’m calling The Great Ornament Tour:
We bought this ornament at a booth at a huge flea market in Canton, Texas. We also bought the welcome sign that sits next to our front door on that trip.
My mom gave Roger these 2 ornaments ~ aren’t the adorable? I love the little pilot Snoopy!
I’ll post a few more later. We don’t have a ton of ornaments, but the ones we do have all have very special meanings or memories attached.
thank you, amy!
y mail carrier brought me a box today. It was from my November Homeschool Blog Awards SWAP buddy, Amy. It had the cutest little notebook, a 2008 planner, and a journal inside, accompanied by one of the sweetest notes I have ever received. Thank you so much, Amy! They’re beautiful!!
There was also a box of decaf Earl Grey tea, which is one of my favorites. As a matter of fact, I think I’ll go make a cup of tea right now to warm myself up ~ it’s damp and chilly here today. Hot tea is exactly what I need. Amy, you’re a doll!
bfs #11
his week’s Blogger Friends School assignment is to visit our classmates’ blogs and let them know we’re praying for them. We’re also supposed to leave a few prayer requests for others to pray for.
homeschool blog awards voting
Voting for the Homeschool Blog Awards has begun! Please be sure to vote for your favorite homeschool blogs.
Unfortunately there has been some controversy about this year’s HSBA contest rules. I am a contributor to HSBA ~ I write the Thursday Thoughts post every other Thursday. It has been my experience with the other ladies who are also contibutors that each and every one of them has been ethical and aboveboard regarding this year’s awards, even through some nasty mudslinging, false accusations, and just plain meanness that was directed towards them (us) and HSBA. The policies and proceedures for the awards have been established, approved by legal council, and posted on the site. They are there for your perusal.
On another note, Dawn from My Home Sweet Home and Barefoot Blog Designs has written a post on her blog addressing some of the questions that have arisen and been addressed. She did a marvelous job ~ please read her post here.
training hearts blogoversary party
Tamara at Training Hearts is hosting a giveaway to honor her blogoversary ~ she has been blogging for 3 years! Wow ~ way to go, Tamara!
The prize is the cutest angel bear from Build-A-Bear. Most people don’t know this, but I L.O.V.E. teddy bears. They’re the one collection from my childhood that I still have ~ and I still add to it. 
If you want to enter the drawing, click here to read Tamara’s post and the rules. It’s really simple to enter ~ although if you don’t enter, that just means a bigger chance for me to win! 
blogger friend school #10
Are we really on assignment #10 in Blogger Friend School already? Wow! I know I haven’t done all of the assignments, but I didn’t think we were that far along yet.
We’re sharing favorite Christmas/holiday cookie recipes this week. I don’t have pictures of my cookies like Tamara does, but you probably already know what these recipes look like when they’re baked!
Blossom Cookies
1 3/4 C. flour
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 C. shortening
1/2 C. peanut butter
1/2 C. sugar
1/2 C. brown sugar
1 egg
2 Tbs. milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 bag Hershey Kisses
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Mix together flour, baking soda & salt. In a separate bowl, mix shortening, peanut butter, sugar, brown sugar, egg, milk & vanilla. Add flour mixture a little at a time , mixing well after each addition. Form into small balls, and roll in (white) sugar. Bake for 6 minutes. Remove cookies from the oven; place a Hershey’s Kiss in the center of each cookie, using the Kiss to slightly flatten the cookie. Bake 2 minutes longer. Cool on pan 2-5 minutes before removing to cooling rack.
If you make these cookies, be careful. They are seriously addicting! I think this mix makes a couple dozen cookies ~ you’ll be surprised at how quickly they will disappear!
This next recipe was given to me by one of the best baker/cookie maker moms I’ve ever met. I know it’s not technically a holiday cookie recipe, but they truly are the best chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever had ~ the recipe merits being shared.
The Best Chocolate Chip Cookies Ever
1 C. butter
1 C. brown sugar
1 C. granulated (white) sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
2 C. flour
2 1/2 C. blended rolled oats (measured before blending)
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 C. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/12 C. chopped nuts (optional)
Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
Cream butter & sugars. Add eggs and vanilla; blend well. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, blended oatmeal (oatmeal flour), baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add to creamed mixture; mix together well. Stir in chocolate chips and nuts (if using). Let the dough rest for a few minutes (if you’re in a hot & humid climate, you can place the dough into the refrigerator for a couple of minutes). Spoon tablespoon-fulls of dough out and roll into balls. Flatten with the back of a spoon. Place 1 to 2 inches apart on cookie sheet. Bake for 8-10 minutes ~ remove from oven before they begin to turn brown (unless you like crunchy chocolate chip cookies ~ if you like crunchy cookies, let them bake until they begin to brown a bit). Cool on cookie sheet for 5 minutes, then remove to cooling rack.
The second part of our assignment this week is to share a special memory about baking Christmas/holiday goodies. One of my fondest memories is from when Roger was a 1st lieutenant (or maybe he was a captain by then?) in the Air Force. We were stationed at Reese AFB in Lubbock, Texas. We couldn’t afford to go to Colorado (home) for the holidays, so we stayed in Lubbock. We hung out with our also “financially challenged” 1st lieutenant/young captain friends, who couldn’t afford to travel for the holidays either. My friend Stacey lived just down the street. That year Stacey decided that I needed to learn how to bake cookies. We spent a couple of days in her kitchen baking cookies. I think we ate the majority of the dough before it could ever be baked, made one enormous mess after the other, had a couple of good-natured cookie dough and frosting fights, and let our very young children eat way more sugar than they should have. It was the most fun I’ve ever had baking!
My verse this week is Galatians 2:20:
I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.
training hearts giveaway
Tamara at Training Hearts is celebrating having received over 5000 comments on her blog. She’s giving away a lovely prayer basket ~ all you have to do to be entered into the drawing is leave a comment on this post on her blog.