Muffin Tin Monday - no theme

There was no theme for today's Muffin Tin Monday - and since we were out this morning strawberry picking and grocery shopping, we got home in time to eat lunch but not enough time to come up with a lunch-muffin tin... so today it was a snack! Yum! I made some icing and added fruit, pretzels and sprinkles for dipping.
Again, my kids just love Muffin Tin Monday! I love it too!For more Muffin Tin Monday partipants, visit Her Cup Overfloweth!

Muffin Tin Monday ~ Numbers

My Kindergarten Son remembered that today should be "muffin tin Monday" - I had wished I had thought more about what we could do to make it fun but having had sick children in this house for the past 10 days, I didn't give it as much creativity as I would have hoped. My oldest son (kindergartener) pulled out a child-size table from my daughters room with chairs and declares it's a restaurant... a "Muffin Tin Restaurant". So again, this was very fun!

Here's what we did though:
12 - dried cranberries
11 - crackers
10 - crackers with cream cheese
9 - pieces of cheese
8 - slices of apple
7 - apples with peanut butter
6 - pretzels
5 - mini marshmallows
4 - blueberries
3 - cookies
2 - yogurts (one for his sister and one for him)
1 - glass of chocolate milk
*this food was shared a bit amongst my 3 children and myself.
Have a great week! And for more MTM ideas, visit Her Cup Overfloweth!

Duckling Rescue

Fingerprint Friday

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:

I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them?

12 little ducklings and their mommy

The pictures are mine, but here's an abbrieviated exerpt from our local paper:

"Twenty excited kids, wielding large sheets of construction paper, lined up with military precision to form a safety corridor.

Operation objective: Herd a mother duck and her 12 babies out of the Elementary’s enclosed courtyard, through the classroom, down the school halls, across a busy road, and into [the] Lake....

It’s not the first rescue operation undertaken at [the] Elementary. In 1995 the school successfully managed the same situation with a mother duck and her nine babies....

The mother and her downy babies waddled speedily through the classroom and down the halls. They navigated the human corridor across the parking lot.

Police Const. and his patrol car, lights flashing, held back traffic as the procession crossed [the] Road.

It was literally all downhill from the moment they hit [the] Park. Mama blazed a trail down the paths and through the high grass, babies stumbling and tumbling behind her...."

For more Fingerprint Friday entries, visit Fingerprint Friday at PamperingBeki - The Blog

Muffin Tin Monday ~ ABC's

Last week I somehow came across this meme, Muffin Tin Monday, and I thought it was such a great idea! It spurs on Moms to interact with their children, to create excitement and a learning experience into meal time (IMO)... my kids (ages 5, 3 and 2) were just buzzing when they saw me trying to think up some ABC's for their muffin-tin lunch! They already know that next week is a Numbers theme and so we've conversed about what it could look like!

Thanks Michelle for this idea... please visit her at "Her Cup Overfloweth" here:Here is what we came up with on a wim...
A is for apples and alphabet pasta
B is for banana
C is for cranberries (dried) and carrots
That was fun! I'm already thinking it would be great to continue this for as many Mondays as possible and even into September for my Son who will be in grade 1 and eating lunch at school every Monday! How fun would that be?!

Have a great day!

Wooden Shoe Like to Win?’ Sisterchicks® Contest

Robin Jones Gunn is one of my favourite authors - I'm not a big reader, but as a child I faithfully read all the Babysitter Club Books by Ann M. Martin; then as a Teen I faithfully read all of the Christy Miller Series by Robin Jones Gunn!

Alexa and I met Robin at a Women of Faith Conference we attended in Portland, Oregon in the summer of 2005. Here we are:It was such a blessing to just speak to Robin (I couldn't actually speak to her because I was overwhelmed with emotions, LOL)! (And I can't believe I don't have a picture of her with us?)

As an adult I read her Glenbrooke Series and some of her Sisterchick Series... I ought to catch up and get myself reading a bit more!
Robin has a new book out this month called "Sisterchicks in Wooden Shoes"... here is a summary of it:
"Summer and Noelle, two pen pals since 4th grade, meet for the first time in the land of tulips and windmills. An abnormal mammogram sends Summer on a quest to fulfill her lifelong wish before she begins the same struggle her mother fought against breast cancer. The story of these two Sisterchicks is brimming with hope and cheer and will bring encouragement forSisterchicks in Wooden Shoes by Robin Jones Gunn any woman who has faced a fearful future."

You can win a signed copy of this book if you either Twitter, Facebook or blog about it and link back to Robin... click here for the details of the contest.

Thanks Robin! You are such an inspiration and a Woman of God that is so encouraging to all you meet and all who read your work!

Fingerprint Friday

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of God
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of God
And I know its true
You're a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them?
For more Fingerprint Friday entries, visit Fingerprint Friday at PamperingBeki - The Blog

Word Filled Wednesday - Delight

I was reminded of this verse (which is a favorite of mine) again this week by a friend. God will delight in us, just as we delight in our children, and here little Boo is delighting in her new found ability to make music.


For more participants in the meme "Word Filled Wednesday" for today, visit The 160 Acre Woods.

Works For Me Wednesday ~ toilets & toothbrushes

Do you clean your family's toothbrushes? If so, how? How often?
I received the following book from a good, life-long friend Jamie from Encouragment for Today blog... she sent this book to me for a birthday of mine nearly a decade ago. I read this book and wanted to share one of the many great practical tips in this book that I've implemented into my life...
First of all, here is the book:
and the tip I want to share from it is this... cleaning your toothbrushes weekly by throwing them in the dishwasher or by soaking them in hydrogen peroxide - I've chosen to do the dishwasher method but I did not remember that it should be a weekly thing, which now I will try to do!
(yes, I'd think you throw them in the dishwasher with the detergent... just add them to your utensil holder with a full load of dishes and voila, clean brushes!)Here is her blurb on it from the book:

Which now brings me to another part of the bathroom - the toilet! My Husband read one time that a flushing toilet "spills/sprays" it's contents a certain radius (that I can't remember) in the bathroom; hence onto your toothbrushes, handtowel...etc. I can't find the article and haven't found key words to search on google in order to get me to this information for you... but trust me and if you think about it, you'll quickly see it's true.
So our solution (my husband must've read this in the same article) was to keep the lid closed all the time and especially before flushing the toilet! You might like to implement this in your home too!Works for me! (continue below for more info)






Added in after publishing: A friend of mine, Korinne, let me know that a toilet's radius of "spray" is 10 feet! YUCK!
And I thought I would add in a Homemade Dishwashing Soap in which I learnt about on a WFMW post from last week on Abigail's Mommy blog...

Mix equal parts Borax and Baking Soda, and add 2 Tablespoons per load. Increase proportion of soda for hard water. Use vinegar in the rinse cycle or free rinse aid.

Borax .32 a cup
Baking soda .01 a cup

.33 a cup or .04 a load

I mixed up a cup of each and stored them in a container with a tablespoon under the sink.


I participated in the Works For Me Wednesdays hosted by We are That Family ... click on this button to go and visit more posts with frugal ideas!

hug your little ones tighter

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:
I can see the fingerprints of god
When I look at you
I can see the fingerprints of god
And I know its true
Youre a masterpiece
That all creation quietly applauds
And you're covered with the fingerprints of god

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them?

"The Eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are attentive to their prayers." 1 Peter 3:12a

Oh Lord, may the words that come off my tongue be prayers for many but first and foremost for my sphere of influence, my children, my legacy. (Beki talks about legacy in her Fingerprint Friday post today!)
I was reading MaryBeth Chapman's blog today and came to a post in which she left her readers "hug your little ones tighter"



For more Fingerprint Friday entries, visit Fingerprint Friday at PamperingBeki - The Blog

Fingerprint Friday - Praise You in this Storm

Fingerprint Friday

There is a song by Steven Curtis Chapman that says:

I can see the fingerprints of God

When I look at you

I can see the fingerprints of God

And I know its true

You're a masterpiece

That all creation quietly applauds

And you're covered with the fingerprints of God

So look around you and see where YOU can see God's fingerprints. Is it in nature? Kids? Animals? Where do you see them?

We had the most amazing storm complete with Thunder and Lightening on Monday night. Dad and kids were out and they came home pants soaked to the knees. There was really no way of getting home dry. Here's the sky as the storm started. If you click on it to enlarge it, you can see the rain falling.

This was our street as the family was leaving the swimming pool and "running" to the car to come home.

And as the storm cleared the clouds lightened and we were blessed with an amazing sunset (sorry no picture ~ it was ugly above the roof).

Watching the storm and explaining to the toddler the the thunder was coming from God reminded me of this Casting Crowns song:

Casting Crowns ~ Praise You In This Storm
I was sure by now
That You would have reached down
And wiped our tears away
Stepped in and saved the day
But once again, I say "Amen", and it's still raining

As the thunder rolls
I barely hear You whisper through the rain
"I'm with you"
And as Your mercy falls
I raise my hands and praise the God who gives
And takes away

Chorus:
I'll praise You in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For You are who You are
No matter where I am
Every tear I've cried
You hold in Your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise You in this storm

I remember when
I stumbled in the wind
You heard my cry
You raised me up again
My strength is almost gone
How can I carry on
If I can't find You

I lift my eyes unto the hills
Where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord
The maker of heaven and earth
© 2005 Reunion

For more Fingerprint Friday entries, visit Fingerprint Friday at PamperingBeki - The Blog