The Faith Of A Child

As a mom I take it very seriously to instill in my kiddos the importance of a personal relationship with Jesus, to pray and talk with God throughout the day, to trust in Him and to read His word.  But since I am with the kids 99.9% of the time I don't have a chance to see them "out in the real world" applying what we have tried so hard to model...the other day I got to see their faith in action...
We were up on "our hill" (the land we have great plans to build our dream house on...someday!) planning to do some sled riding, since we had gotten back to back snow storms.  However, the snow was too deep and J's Blazer got stuck, big time stuck, on the bank of a pretty steep ditch, at one point the passenger side window was on it's side inches from the snow, with the drivers side up off the ground! IT WAS SCARY! we quickly scrambled out of the car once he "righted" it as best as he could, b/c we were sure it was going to flip over! 

The truck was sliding backwards and sideways toward the ditch instead of forward, I am standing in the road and that's how far it kept sliding...

I scurried the kids to higher ground and I tried to push while J drove...I was praying a lot, silently and out loud!





Then I looked up the hill to check on the kids and what I saw tugged my heart and brought tears to my eyes...

 

Aiden had gathered his little sisters and they were sitting in a circle, holding hands, PRAYING!

Yes, I admit it, I completely ditched J and ran up the hill to click this picture...I wanted it as a reminder that our kids mimic what they see and they have a faith that is unfailing!  It's my prayer that I can continue to be a good example of Christ's love to my children and that even though I may let them down at times, their Heavenly Father never will.

I wish you could see the smile on J's face when he finally got the truck out of the ditch! We were whooping and hollering and praising God!  It ended up being a fun afternoon, even though the snow was not only too deep to drive in, but too deep to sled in too!

 

 

 

Wordsworth Page-Turner

Some people may accuse me of going over the top...I admit, I jump at the chance to take a simple task, like snack time for Aiden's class, and spiral it into a creative outlet for me and a fun project for the kids!  Last month's issue of Family Fun magazine the had an excerpt for Eating your worms! as a special snack for Reading Across America day. I loved that idea and when Aiden's snack day came around we whipped up a batch of rice krispie treats and following the directions on the site, created our own bookworms and then proceeded to create a story behind the whole bookworm idea....and alas, Wordswoth Page-Turner was born!

Using a cereal box and some scrapbook paper we created a "Book" for our bookworms to "live" in.  

 

We cut a slit in the top and attached scrapbook paper to the top and bottom and the side, and then "lined" the sides to look like pages (dear daddy took care of creating the "book" while I created the story.

Once Upon A Time...

     In a land west of the field there was a kindergarten class full of giggly wiggly children. Their teacher, Mrs Twinkle-Sparkle was very fun and her eyes twinkled and her smile sparkled and more than anything else in the world, she loved to read to her students.

One Wednesday afternoon, after a particularly wiggly giggly morning, Mrs Twinkle-Sparkle sat down in her squishy wishy reading chair and opened a book to read to the children.  As she turned to the first page in the book she GASPED!!!

"Oh me! Oh my! The pages are GONE!" she squealed in alarm.

As the children gathered around to look at the book one of them noticed another book laying on the floor near the door.

"Mrs Twinkle-Sparkle" she said "who put that book by the door?"

All the children started to talk at once, no one knew who put that book there, because everyone knew books DID NOT belong on the floor! As the children bent down to pick up the book it wiggled and jiggled and out popped a wiggly giggly squirmy wormy!

The class erupted in squeals! The girls jumped up on their chairs and the boys began to chase after the worm as it wiggled and jiggled across the floor right to Mrs Twinkle-Sparkle.  She bent down and picked it up and to everyone's surprise give it a light kiss right on the nose!

"Class" she said, "This is Wordsworth Page-Turner, he is a bookworm and it's an honor to have him in our class!"  As she placed him on top of the book, she explained to the students that only the classes with the best books and most interesting students are honored with a bookworm and once the bookworm is invited to stay in the class, they will not eat any more books...just leaves. 

From that time on, Wordsworth and all his friends lived in Mrs. Twinkle-Sparkle's classroom and enjoyed listening to her read every day!

The End.

 

I just couldn't resist this last picture of Aiden....

Who Says It's Too Cold For Ice Cream?!

I came across a new blog (http://sciencenatureartkids.blogspot.com/) and even though she's only posted 1 thing so far, it was definitely worthy of trying out!!
WARING! This craft is sure to goo up your hands, your kids hands and most likely your floor, despite your best efforts! But isn't that the fun of living a sticky life?!
The ingredients are simple:
Birdseed
Sugar Cones
Shortening
String
and an open mind to all the mess!!

Directions:
Dig into the shortening and get a good handful. Get some birdseed and mash it into the shortening. Form into a ball and add some more birdseed to the outer part.  Cut string and put each end into the Sugar Cone (leaving a loop to hang from) Form the ball onto and into the cone a bit to stabilize it and form it around the edges to give it something to "grip" once hardened.  We laid ours on a rimmed cookie sheet that was covered with wax paper.  Set in a cold place to freeze and then hang once they are hard.

 

*****NOTE*****
We made these and hung them out before I got around to getting a good picture of the finished product <gasp> Trust me, they looked ADORABLE! We went away on vacation and while away, we had a warm spell and they melted and fell from the trees...our dogs found them and GOBBLED them up...and then for the next 10 days my dear brother-in-law had to clean up the results of 2 dogs eating 10 of these "crisco cones"...he certainly earned Brother-In-Law of the Year award for dealing with the nasty messes they created!

It's A Chili Kinda Day

My hubby does not care for chili.  Actually he loathes it.  But I LOVE it! There's nothing like a (super-duper quick & easy) bowl of steamy chili, corn muffin cakes while the snow is swirling outside!
I usually have to find someone to share my chili with, b/c if I don't, I will end up eating all of it...All. Of. It.!!! So I made a big batch to share with J's parents, who happen to live right next door, and share my advanced taste palate (hee hee!).  I came across this recipe a year ago from a blog called  The Girl Creative http://www.thegirlcreative.com/2010/01/best-chili-recipe.html  And trust me when I say that it's truly "that good" and paired with the "Corn Muffin Cakes" makes it a favorite QUICK meal!
<Hint> Prepare the Corn Muffin Cakes FIRST and the Chili can be cooked while they are baking!

Best Chili Ever
Ingredients:
1 lb Ground Beef
1 Jar of Medium or Mild Salsa
1 Can of Corn, drained
1 Can Red Kidney Beans, drained
1 15 oz Can of Tomato Sauce
1 pkg of Taco Seasoning
1 pkg of Hidden Valley Ranch Dry Salad Dressing Mix (original)

 Directions
In a large pan brown the ground beef and drain. Return beef to pan, add the remaining ingredients and heat until bubbly!
That's it...seriously, that's it! I like to top each bowl with a little shredded cheese and dollop of sour cream.

Now on to the even EASIER part of the meal...

Corn Muffin Cakes ( I have searched for the site where I got this recipe, but I cannot find it, when I do, i will give credit where it's due!)
1 can of creamed corn
1 box of Jiffy Corn Muffin Mix

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line 10-12 muffin cups with liners. Combine ingredients and spoon into prepared muffin pan.  Bake for 25-30 mins.  They are a little gooey inside, so we like to eat them with a spoon (or flatten them out completely on the plate like Annie Ru does!)

-20 Degree Magic

What do you do when it's -20 degrees outside and your poor heater can't keep the house warm?!  You bake!

For my first magic trick I will turn this... 

Into this....

Banana Nut Muffins with Cream Cheese Frosting (recipe adapted from The Girl Who Ate Everything blog)
Batter:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 bananas, mashed
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg, lightly beaten
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

DIRECTIONS
Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.   Lightly grease 10 muffin cups, or line with muffin papers.

In a large bowl, mix together 1 1/2 cups flour, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In another bowl, beat together bananas, sugar, egg, vanilla, cinnamon, nutmeg and melted butter. Stir the banana mixture into the flour mixture just until moistened and then add in the walnuts, mix. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups.

Spice Sprinkle
2 Tablespoons white Sugar
1 teaspoon Cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
mix the spices together in a small bowl.  Sprinkle each UNcooked muffin with a generous amount of the spice mixture.
Bake 15-18 minutes or until toothpick inserted into the muffins comes out clean.


Let cool and then ice with Cream Cheese Frosting...or leave unfrosted and eat with a generous tab of butter!

Cream Cheese Frosting
1/4 cup softened butter

4 ounces cream cheese

1/2 pound powdered sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Mix all ingredients on high until soft and whipped. I like to really whip the icing, it makes it really fluffy! Put in a plastic bag, snip a small hole in one corner and pipe onto muffins.  

Enjoy with a cup of coffee and hopefully by now the house has heated up a few degrees!  Ta-Da!

Sticky, Yet Oh So Sweet!

Remember the sweet and sticky parts of life I was talking about...ya, this about sums it up!! Even though she is covered in sticky raspberry applesauce, she sure looks sweet!!  It's so good of La La Ren to help illustrate my point for me!

Celebrating the Sweet & Sticky of Life!

Welcome to Peanut Butter Jelly Jam!
I am excited to embark on this adventure as a Mommy Blogger.  I've been an avid blog reader for several years and decided to take the plunge into these uncharted (for me) waters. I'm a thirty-something Stay at Home Mama to 3 "Peanuts" and am an uber-supportive (most of the time!) Wife to my Entrepreneur Childhood Sweetheart (we met in Sunday School when we were 5!).  I have a degree in Elementary Education and Psychology, (both which help tremendously in the everyday as a wife and mother!) I love to craft, I try to sew, Cooking is great (except for all those dishes!) and I love to throw parties!! We tend to celebrate the everyday and are always looking for an excuse to have some fun! As we go along, you will notice a few things about me, such as I love to use (parenthesis), commas, exclamations!!...dot dot dot... and hyphens--and I'll probably make up a word or two!!  I'm excited to share my life and adventures with those of you who stumble into our Sweet & Sticky World!!