Thrifty Moment

Since our home stays cold on wintry days, I decided that the kids needed some fleece clothes. David had a couple of pairs of fleece pants, but Caleb and the girls didn't have any. So when I was at a yard sale the other day, they had a large fleece baby blanket for .50. I was so HAPPY. So today in about one hour, I made one pair of pants and 2 nightgowns. And everyone is warm, snuggly, and happy! And I feel good for being so thrifty!

Pumpkin Day - Guest Photographer

Today we cooked our pumpkin. We bought this pumpkin last week at Farmer's Market (I am loving my local CSA Organic Market). It didn't cost but a few dollars and we had hoped it would make a fun exploration and a whole lot of yummy foods.

It's nice to be in a picture.

We drew what we thought the inside of our pumpkin would look like, what it smelled like, if it reminded us of another fruit or vegetable, and if we like the final outcome..pumpkin puree.

Caleb showing off the inside of the inside of pumpkin that we pulled out. This was referred to as the "pasta", the "lobster" and the "hair". Interesting exploring!

Our Guest Photographer, David showing off the seeds. These are currently being dried to be made into Cinnamon-Sugar seeds tomorrow.

We had the most delicious pancakes I have ever put in my mouth and I am not alone in my assessment. I did substitute the flour for my fresh milled flour, so they were mostly healthy! The boys said they tasted "like heaven". David flipped the pancakes tonight. A hard thing for his mother to let him do, but he really liked doing and I think he grew 2 inches.

Eating it Up!!
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/pumpkin-pancakes/detail.aspx

Thank You David for making all these pictures of our fun afternoon. You are a great son, and I am glad you like letting all our friends and relatives check in our blog! You are growing into a fine man, and your Father and I are so proud of you.

End of The Homeschool Co-Op

We have had such a great time. It has been a growing time for us as we have tried to find new home school friends. David took 2 classes 1. The Human Body and 2. Bubbles, Explosions, Science Fun. Can you find him - waiting in the corner for his lungs...they made a full size body poster of themselves, and finished it on the last day.

Julia and Abigail took Preschool Bible time. They have enjoyed Bible stories, Coloring, making friends, and playing on the playground.

Caleb studied Animal Habitats and Bug Safari. He loved his class every week, especially the week his class studied ocean animals and he got to show off his jellyfish sting. Just like a man, still showing off his scar and bragging how he can now swallow a Benadryl whole!

What To Do

So while everyone (including myself), has been sick, I have spent a lot of time sitting at the computer. So I thought I would share a few pictures with you.

Here is the picture of our mantel. I have always wanted a mantel to decorate. I used my new chalk pens to write on the mirror. Nancy showed us these pens a while back and I love them. If you love them, you can find them at Michael's in a ton of colors.

Another fun thing....My CROP A DILE. I used it to make a sugar shaker. I needed to sprinkle sugar on top of some blueberry muffins. So I used my Crop a Dile to punch holes in the lid of my jar, a perfect sugar shaker! WOO HOO!

If the muffins look yummy read the recipe at
http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2008/08/dairy-contest-finalist-recipe-the-awesome-est-blueberry-muffins/

ELECTION NIGHT

Coloring our Maps along with ABC news website!
I will be interested to see how the night plays out!

ELECTION DAY

We went to vote today. And since we had Grant's Flat Stanley we decided to let him go with us to vote. Flat Stanley got to meet Mrs. Peggy Martin. She is the former Mayor of Phenix City and was running for Russell County Commissioner (R). So Caleb and Flat Stanley got their picture made.

Flat Stanley must have been nervous, he didn't say anything to Mrs. Peggy.

Then we waited in line. Flat Stanley was very patient.
He didn't say a word the whole time we were in line.

After putting our ballot in the box, we all got our "I voted" stickers.

Caleb and Flat Stanley showing off their stickers.

Ben & Jerry's is giving away Ice Cream tonight, Krispy Kreme is giving away doughnuts, and Starbucks is giving away coffee, all if you have your "I Voted" sticker on. We were going to take the kids out, but Chris has drama practice tonight. Abigail said we didn't need to go out, we have ice cream in our freezer!

Funny political talk
Abigail - "Mom I know who Aunt Judy is gonna vote for." How do you know?" "I asked her!"
Abigail - "Mom, let's not vote for Obombo okay? I want McCain to win"
Julia - "I like them giving you a sticker. Voting is nice."
Caleb - "So that's it?' - sounding rather disappointed. I think he was hoping the nominees would be there.
David - "It was cool. I don't know how those machines read those papers though."

How the Lord blessed me....painfully!

I have been wanting to give up my desire/addiction to Coca-Cola for a long time. When we were in Colorado for our Cadence training, we had to drink water because of the altitude, so I gave up the Coke. Not to mention, since we weren't in the South, Coke wasn't readily available. When we got home though, there was an ice-cold 12 pack waiting in my fridge. So right back to the Coke drinking I went. Well, here I am trying to change our diet, and I have to get rid of these cokes, but my heartburn kept getting so bad, that I kept drinking them. Since I seem to forget to talk to the Lord about these issues, I finally decided to talk to the Lord about it. And that night, after drinking the last coke, I got so sick. My heartburn was horrible. I was up all night, took 3 Pepcids, 2 LARGE glasses of milk (I hate drinking milk), and a half a bottle of Pepto Bismol. None of which brought relief. I even had to sleep propped up on some pillows just to rest. It was a long horrible night. The next morning my throat was so raw from the acid reflux that I could hardly talk. My PRECIOUS husband got up and fixed me some of his wonderful Sweet Tea. That was the last time I have had a Coke. It has been several weeks now, and I don't know if I will drink one any time soon. I am praising God for that long night. It truly broke my desire for the drink I wanted to get out of my diet. Please don't be foolish like me, remember to talk to the Lord about everything!