Wednesday, March 16, 2011

What Is That SMELL??

Today I had to run a quick errand, I had to run to get sprinkles so I could finish a chocolate dipped order. I set the kids up with school and said; "I'll be back in a few minutes." Not noticing our youngest needed to be timed in Math, our oldest decided to go ahead and get him started. They tried to decide how to start a timer so instead of just watching the clock they decided to start the microwave!!! Don't ask me why, all I can say is....well, I have NO idea!! So, they set the timer for 10 minutes and went back to work. One being timed in Math the other reading in History. When I returned I was met at the van and I knew something was wrong. I hear these words..."Now, Mom, don't get mad but, well, ummmm, we burnt your chocolate!!" When I went to check it out, the whole bowl, 10 pounds of chocolate was so hot it actually burnt and turned into a course sand! When I started to scoop it out of the bowl it melted the trash bag and the spoon I was scooping! Lessons learned today...chocolate stinks really bad when its burnt & DON'T USE THE MICROWAVE FOR A TIMER!!!

Monday, March 14, 2011

A Special Birthday Gift

Going to Wal-Mart on Saturday is NOT my idea of an enjoyable Saturday afternoon, but I wanted to get groceries because we were going into a week of revival services and I wanted my meals planned. I wanted to go Friday but did not get around to going. That was because God had a plan...

As I was running out the door Caleb decided to come along. I always enjoy the alone time with the boys because I get a glimpse into their heart. Caleb recently received money for his birthday and like any little boy he was trying to decide what to buy. For a few months he's been anticipating his birthday. He had a few things in mind that he wanted; however, he kept coming back to one particular item...a new paintball gun! He had been looking online and at the pawn shops for one but no luck finding what he wanted. We talked a few time about waiting on the Lord. We talked about faith and we decided to trust that the Lord had something special just for him on his birthday. While at Wal-Mart he found a $5 item that he wanted, it was not something he needed in fact it was really just a waist of his $5 so we talked about maybe just waiting. We talked about being wise with his money and not just spending it because it was in his wallet. I reminded him that God had something really special for him if he would just wait on the Lord. He had already split his money up into save & spend so what he had was his free to spend birthday money.

On the way home we had one of those special conversations, you know, the ones where he tell me what a great Mom I am! I love those! tee hee!! We had a nice ride home just visiting with one another and enjoying our alone time. As we pulled into the neighborhood we spotted a yard sale sign. Knowing I had groceries in the back he said; "Mom, can we go to the yard sale real quick?' I agreed but said; "I bet its over because its already after 2 and yard sales in our area close before noon!" Sure enough, as we drove by they had everything in boxes and it looked like it was all clothes anyway. As we drove by we noticed the yard sale sign we were following was past the house that was packing up so we proceeded around the corner to another one. Again I repeated what I said a few moments earlier. As we pulled up to the yard sale it was still in full swing! Junk...I mean stuff everywhere! As soon as we pulled up he yelled..."I see a paintball mask!" Now, let me just say this mask was on the back of a table behind some other junk and all you could see was the strap! He jumped out of the van, ran up to the table, talked to the man of the house for a few moments and ran back to the van. I could tell by his excitement that there was more then just a mask!!! He said with great excitement; "Oh, Mom, there is a paintball gun, mask, tank and hopper (only a Mom of boys would know all the names!) for just $70!!! I smiled and said; "Well, lets get your brother so he can look it over." He told the man in a calm voice, you know, not to give away he was really excited; "Ummm, sir, I'm going to get my brother to come look at your gun, we'll be right back". He got in the van and his mouth started running!! Thinking the Lord was about to give him his special gift I said we need to do a few things. One, we need to go home and see how much spend money you have and two you need to take your brother's advice. If he says its good and you have enough money then you can get it; however, if you don't have enough money or if Kyle says no then you need to just take it that the Lord has something better for you and this is a NO. He agreed! When he got home he counted his money and had $50. We decided together if it was good and Kyle said yes he would have to offer the man $50 and if he would accept $50 then he could buy it. Off they went to make a deal!!! They walked back to the yard sale and about 15 minutes later they came into the house .

I could hear them laughing in the front yard before they even opened the door so I knew God had given him a special birthday gift. Sure enough the front door flew open and two excited young men came bellowing in the front door!!! Mom, they said, we got it for $50!!! My heart was filled with joy but little did I know....

You see, our oldest son had been praying that God would give him a new mask because the one he had was to snug. He looked up online a particular mask that he needed but it was $80 and he knew he would never spend $80 on a paintball mask so he decided to pray about it. Would you believe the mask he prayed for was the mask at the yard sale!!! Right down to the color!!! When he saw the mask he said; "My heart started pounding and I could not believe my eyes!" When he told his brother about it on the way home his brother decided Kyle would get the mask, Caleb would get the gun and Kyle would give Caleb the smaller mask.

Oh, and the gun, well, it too was the exact gun Caleb had been praying for and its only been shot about 5 times!! The total package was valued around $300 and God gave it to a little boy who was faithful in praying for a special gift! Don't tell me God does not hear the prayers of our children.

After they settled down Caleb said real quick "I'll be right back, I've got to go to my room!" He ran to his room and when I looked in he was kneeling along side his bed thanking God for the blessing of a special birthday gift. He was thanking God for a gift and I was thanking God for yet another lesson learned.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

How I Know Spring Is In The Air

Do you know how we know Spring Is In The Air at our house? This goes up!!!
Every Spring it goes up and stays up for several weeks, sometimes a few months until it gets to hot. The boys have discovered if they put the tent over the top it will not rain inside so now it can stay up wind or rain! Are they roughing it?
ummmm NO!!! Grandpa received a new chair for his birthday so the boys adopted his old one and of course it went in the tent! My rug is in the tent! The bathroom trash can is in the tent! They are not roughing it all all!

They have their X-Box 360 out there and all the blankets in the house! Including my pink one! He is going to love that I have this photo of him in a pink blanket! LOL!

Even the dog has made her home out there with them! So far the tent has been up about a month and they have survived a few stormy nights, 37 degree mornings and a nice windy day. Is is killing the grass...yep, is it in the way....yep, is it blocking the view from the back door...yep, but I've had to ask myself does that really matter? No! I know one day when Spring comes that tent will be in the shed and I'll long to hear them laughing out there. I'll long for the words, "can we eat our dinner outside?" I'll long for the "we discovered stories". I'm going to enjoy knowing two brothers are building a strong bonding relationship. So for now I'm just going to enjoy the annoyance of an ugly tent at my back door and enjoy the sound of them laughing and building memories that they will one day recall. I'm going to enjoy going to check on them to find them sleeping because they think its later then it really is. I'm going to enjoy watching them "clean house"! I'm going to enjoy sitting in the yard watching them play catch. I'm going to enjoy all the sleepovers they have been having because they are "camping". I'm just going to enjoy the job of being a Mom of two fantastic boys because I know way to soon this house will be quiet. I hope you're enjoying your children too and creating a happy joyful home.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Ice Cream Sandwiches

Got company coming over and you're not sure what to make for dessert? Ice Cream Sandwiches are always a hit! This evening I found these cookies on clearance so I thought I would make my boys a special treat! I made a dozen sandwiches for just .50 cents each. A special treat for the special men in my life!!
The best way to make an ice cream sandwich is to not only freeze the ice cream but freeze the cookies too. Pre freezing the cookies will keep the ice cream from melting once you build your sandwich. The same applies if you make an ice cream cake, pre freeze your cake too.
Use an ice cream scoop and get a full scoop of ice cream. Top with an additional cookie and push together gently. You can also roll the sides of your cookies in nuts, sprinkles, coconut anything that sounds good!
Wrap in foil and place back in freezer until ready to serve, then......
ENJOY!!!!

Tuesday, March 1, 2011

A Word of Warning!!

My Dad's 70th birthday is tomorrow!! I asked him what kind of cake he wanted and he could not decide between Red Velvet or Mandarin Orange so I decided to make him a Red Velvet for tomorrow and a Mandarin Orange for our family gathering Saturday...but a word of warning! When your son finishes vacuuming and puts another can on the counter double check before spraying your cake pan because you might end up spraying your pan with....
Yep! I sprayed the cake pan with Carpet Fresh!! What are the chances of both cans having blue lids!! At least I discovered what I did before putting the cake batter in the pan!!
Lesson learned. Now on to the next one....