Field Trips, Field Trips and more Field Trips

WOW. The last couple of weeks of school are brutal (on me but the kids love them). In the last 7 days I have been on 3 field trips, yes I only have 2 kids, and one walk-a-thon. My goodness if I never see the Virginia City train again....I can't even think about how to finish that sentence. Let's just say that I have ridden the train enough times to be the conductor. So as you probably figured out 2 of the field trips were up to VC to ride the train. The other one was to the indoor pool. That one was a blast. My sunshine spent most of the day going off the diving boards and myself and another mom spent most of the day going down the water slides. As I write this I have a HUGE smile on my face. I love water slides!!! So below are some pictures highlighting the field trips and our school walk-a-thon. Notice that there are no pictures of our field trip to the pool...Like I am going to take the chance of someone taking a picture of me in a swim suit!!! It's a good thing that I like water slides enough to even wear a swim suit in public....I was only self-conscious about 20 million times that day. Enjoy!

Sunshine and his BFF Z. He just loves his mommy!!




All school walk-a-thon. Yes..that's the whole school.




Em and her BFF J. The day of her field trip was cold.

Genesis 1:11-13

Then God said, "Let the land produce vegetation:

seed-bearing plants and trees on the land that bear

fruit with seed in it, according to their various kinds."

And it was so. The land produced vegetation: plants

bearing seed according to their kinds and trees bearing

fruit with seed in it according to their kinds. And God

saw that it was good. And there was evening, and there

was morning-the third day.

Genesis 1:11-13

Today we took a drive up to Tahoe in the rain and then we drove down to Reno through the snow that was falling on Mt Rose Hwy. After lunch we decided to stop by some garden centers to see if we could find anything that could replace my wonderful Western Caltopa (??SP) that died last year. Well after looking at a couple of places and going from ornamental maples to rose trees we found a tree and fell in love. I still can't believe that hubby and I agreed!! We decided on a Weeping Goldenchain. It is a dwarf tree that will only get about 8 feet tall. The best part is that it has these beautiful yellow flowers that hang in groups. I am so excited to see it grow and produce its beautiful flowers.

It smells just as good as it looks.

"Thank you Lord for the beauty that you have given us here on this earth."

Thank You's, Cupcakes & Bubbles

Ephesians 6:18

And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds

of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert

and always keep on praying for all the saints.

This morning I met my MIL Donna and FIL Dick at my children's school. We were there to deliver little thank you gifts to their classes. We have been very blessed to be able to send our children to a Christian school. The teachers that they have this year are wonderful women who love the Lord and it flows out of them. As a class they have been praying for Donna. It amazes me when parents come up to me after school and ask after her because their child has been praying for her at the dinner table or at bed time. It is so important to teach our children about the power of prayer and I feel my children have seen this in every aspect of there lives this year.

Now back to why we were handing out cupcakes and bubbles to the classes. When Donna was getting ready for her surgery they all wrote her letters of encouragement. They included wishes of "get well soon" , "I hope you do good at surgery" and many other cute sayings that only kids in all their innocence can think of. One thing that they all included was "I am praying for you". Now while at the hospital Donna was out of it for the most part but Dick would read them out loud to her. Even thought the kids were writing letters to Donna I know that they comforted Dick as well. When Donna came home she sat in her special chair and read these letters with a smile on her face. What a blessing these little ones have been to our family this year. What a great example they are about lifting each other up in prayer.

Donna & Dick in Emily's class.

Donna & Dick in Ricky's class.

Donna & Dick listening to Ricky's class

tell them about the bible story they

learned today. (Paul and Silas in jail)

Therefore encourage one another and build

each other up, just as in fact you are doing.

1 Thessalonians 5:11

BBQ Pizza (and I don't mean the flavor)

Have you ever craved Pizza but knew that if you turned on the oven to make one at home your house would be way to hot? Have you gone out for pizza with the family and had shell shock when you paid the bill? Well if you are like me and you just have to have pizza when the weather doesn't permit you to turn on your oven then you will just love this recipe. I must admit that even though I enjoy cooking I am not a good enough "foodie" to create my own recipe. So indulge me for a minuet while I pay homage to the people that I borrowed this idea and recipe from.

This last summer on my trip across the country we stopped in Denver, Co. While there we had the privilege of staying at Kurt and Becky's house. Now way back when Becky babysat my little sunshine for me during the last summer I worked. Kurt just happens to be the brother of my BF Bon. I will tell you that Becky just happens to be a foodie and rightly so. She had a fabulous idea to make us our own personal pizzas that we would get to dress. The twist was she had Kurt cook them on the BBQ. The kids absolutely loved this. She had a pizza bar ready and they put on their pizza's what they wanted and how much they wanted. To this day they ask "can we have pizza like we did last summer?". And of course since I love pizza how can I say no. Now I don't know the pizza dough recipe that Becky used but while talking to my sister she told me about the pizza dough recipe she uses. She got it from her BF Crystal. After making it a couple of times (in the oven and on the BBQ) I can tell you that it is g-u-d good. (Those of you who have hung around with my husband will know what that means. For those of you who don't...count yourself lucky. HAHA)

Thank you ladies for sharing your homes and your recipes with me.

What you will need:

BBQ

pizza dough (recipe to follow)

pizza sauce

oregano (I always add a little extra when I buy the sauce premade)

cheese

toppings (any kind your family likes)

Pizza Dough

1 1/4 c warm water

2 TBS Olive Oil

1 1/2 TBS sugar

1 1/2 tsp salt

1 TBS yeast

4 cups flour

1. Place first 5 ingredients into your Kitchen Aid and with the hook turn on low and mix while you pour in the flour. Mix well.

2.Turn it off and leave it just the way it is. Then cover the bowl with saran wrap and place a towel over the Saran wrap. Let rise 1 hour.

3. Remove towel and wrap and turn on low to punch down dough. (about two rotations of the hook)

Now you are ready to make your pizza's.

1. Preheat your BBQ. You want to cook your pizza's on a medium heat.

2. Take a handful of dough and roll out on a floured surface. Repeat until you have enough done that will fit on the BBQ.

3. Prick your dough with a fork. (to prevent big bubbles)

4 Place your pizza dough on the BBQ and cook on one side until you can see the grill marks and it looks done. (Sorry I have never timed it)

5. Once one side is cooked then place the pizza's cooked side up (uncooked side down) on a baking sheet.

6. Dress your pizza's on the cooked side-- kids love to dress their own.

7. Carefully place pizza's back on the BBQ and close the lid. (helps the cheese melt faster)

8. Take off BBQ and Enjoy!!!!

I hope you and your family will enjoy this as much as we do. Happy eating!!

Psalm 142

My Bible's notes describe this as:

A plaintive prayer for deliverance from powerful enemies-

when powerless, alone and without refuge.

Psalm 142

I cry aloud to the Lord;

I lift up my voice to the Lord for mercy.

I pour out my complaint before him;

before him I tell my troubles.

When my spirit grows faint within me,

it is you who know my way.

In the path where I walk men have hidden a snare for me.

Look to my right and see; no one is concerned for me.

I have no refuge; no one cares for my life.

I cry to you, O Lord;

I say, "You are my refuge, my portion in the land

of the living."

Listen to my cry, for I am in desperate need;

rescue me from those who pursue me,

for they are too strong for me.

Set me free from my prison,

that I may praise your name.

Then the righteous will gather about me

because of Your goodness to me.

Where's the Beef!!!

Today as I was grocery shopping I ran across a great deal on ground beef. It was on sale for 99cents a pound plus it had a 50cent off coupon attached to it. I sat there racking my brain thinking to myself..How much should I buy???? Then it hit me. My baby girl will be 7 years old in just 19 days. (Sniff, Sniff) Every year we have a party for her. It always starts out simple enough cake, friends, decorations, fun and every year we always decide at the last minuet to feed everyone a meal. So there I was looking at this beef and it hit me...buy it all. That's right I bought all 17 packages they had marked down. Since my mind was made up about how I was going to use it I got home and took 2 pounds and stuck them in the freezer and the remaining 15 pounds I put into bowls to season and make patties out of.

So here is all the ingredients I use to

make my hamburgers. First I start

with a red wine,(I usually use 2 buck chuck)

some what's-this-here-sauce,

season salt and black pepper.

Here I am mixing it all together.

Have I ever told you how much

I hate raw beef!!!

Here is what 15 pounds of ground beef

looks like. Now it's off to the fridge until

tomorrow. Then I get to touch it again.

(oh boy)

After I finished putting the beef bowls in the fridge I decided to

take a peek at my freezer to see how much room I have to

freeze all these burgers. Well because of my husbands duck

I don't have much room. I think it's time for the birds

to fly into my dumpster. Move over duck here comes the Beef!!

So my question to you is..How many burgers do you think I will

get from 15 pounds of beef???

Peace

John 16:33

"I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace.

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart!

I have overcome the world."

Jesus is telling the disciples this before he is taken and killed.

He knows that their grief will turn to joy.

Have you ever had those weeks that just seem to last forever??

Well this past week was one for me. It all started on Monday when my husband, my brother-in-law and I drove down to San Fransisco to be with my mother-in-law Donna for her surgery. She was scheduled for surgery not knowing if the doctors were going to complete the full surgery we all wanted her to have. For those of you who don't know the whole story I will

briefly try to fill you in.

In August 2006 Donna was diagnosed with colon cancer. She had it removed and had chemotherapy. Everything looked good and she was felling better that she had in years. Then this last January they found that her cancer had metastasized. It spread to her omentum (outside part of the stomach) and to her liver. After undergoing a more rigorous chemotherapy she went to S.F. to a doctor who would perform the surgery. Well on Tuesday of last week

she had her surgery. So down we go to S.F. It was a long day (8 hour surgery)but the news came back good. They removed the spot on her omentum, the little one on her liver and the larger one on her liver plus the left side of her liver and her gull bladder. Happy that they got what they did and she was awake we headed back home Tuesday night. Thursday was the last day of my CBS bible study for the year so Wednesday I spent preparing a dessert and finishing my lesson. Thursday night my son got the flu. YUK! Up all night with my poor sunshine as his little body tried to empty itself. Friday I was on edge just waiting for more to come from my son and nervous about the phone call to tell Dick and Donna that we wouldn't be able to come down for the weekend with the kids. Saturday Dan is off work and Ricky is feeling better so we step right into our weekend ritual of baseball. Mistake. Saturday night Ricky showed us he wasn't done with the flu. Poor baby. At this point I am so tired that I feel bad for myself and ask the Lord to heal my son so that I can rest. Sunday...Mother's Day.. I will admit that I had a bad attitude going into this day. What kind of day was it going to be with a sick child. Well the Lord blessed me even though my attitude didn't deserve it with a wonderful breakfast, cute cards and a surprise visit from my friend (who helped me pick weeds).

I bring this all up because despite the week I had the Lord reminded me that I can have peace. His kind of peace. The best kind of peace. All I have to do is look to Him and what He has done. He has overcome the world and all the sickness, anger, sadness and grief that fills it.

What joy fills my heart when I remember that.

Even in the middle of my crazy week He showed me how much He loves me and the peace that comes from knowing Him when I sat down and watched my daughter in her school concert.

Rain Rain Go Away

Growing up (a good portion of my life) in Nevada has

given me a chance to see some great spring and summer

thunderstorms. But today we had plans. We

were going to go bike riding along the Truckee River.

So we packed up the bikes and hit the road.

We are not afraid of a little rain!!

Luckily we beat the rain to Reno. We had a

great bike ride from Sparks to Downtown.

Here is the gang (us and the Benson's)

taking a little break.

Spring is a great time to see mother nature

and God's hands at work. We saw so many new

geese and their gooslings (?) up and down the river.

Here is Dan and all the kids taking a rest after

our 5 1/2 mile ride. Good job guys!!

Boys Best Friend

Ricky loves to cuddle Sally. Pretty soon she will be bigger than him.