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Planning a Graduation Party

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Our beautiful daughter, Faith graduated from  High School this Spring - so I wanted to have a graduation party to recognize that accomplishment... only problem was, trying to keep it simple, and not spend too much.... here's what I came up with.... Our theme was blue (her school colors), gold, silver, black, and white with pink peonies for a touch of elegance.               The Guest Table -  We had guests sign a JENGA block with a message. (If you couldn't make it, but want to still give her a note... we have lots left... let us know and we'll have you sign one!) Picture frames hung on the wall. A Vase of flowers, a card box, and a basket for the JENGA blocks on the table. We also had a quiz about the graduate for guests to fill out. You can see the quiz here. The Gift Table was pretty simple - it was the top of a garage cupboard... I glammed it up with a sign and flowers... We had her diploma, more pictures and some of her

A Day at the Beach Book Review

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This book wasn't exactly what I was looking for when it comes to a devotional. It felt shallow, and left me feeling empty, longing for a deeper conception to God and myself. I'd have to say, the best thing about this book is the cover and it's size. T he soft leather feel to the cover, makes it wonderful to hold.  It is the perfect size to carry in you pocket or put in your purse. I liked the orange cover.... the perfect color to go with the blue of the ocean.... yes, the cover was the greatest thing about this book to me. *Disclosure of Material Connection: I received this book free from the publisher through Tyndale, book review bloggers program. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

5 Best Household Hacks

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There are some 'household hacks' that I think just about every body has heard of by now, like heating a bowl of lemon water in the microwave before cleaning it and it will wipe off effortlessly. But then, sometimes as I'm using a household hack, I think to myself, I wonder if people know to do this, because I love it so much ! So, today I'm sharing 5 of my favorite household hacks.... 1. Upside Down Laundry Room Towel Rack How many times do you have a wet rag with no where to put it, so it ends up on the washer, counter, floor, or flung over the hamper to dry until laundry day? Well, I don't know about you, but at our house we go through a lot of wet rags.... I had hubby screw in a towel rod upside down under the laundry room cabinet. It is the best thing ever! Now we hang the wet rags up, and when they're dry, I toss them into the hamper. Having this in my laundry room has made me a happier person! 2. Spinning Spice Rack Pampered Chef I used

How Well Do You know The Graduate Quiz

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Here she is.... Our oldest daughter, Faith Dahlia... a graduate of the class of 2017! .....  We are so proud of her! We had the following quiz at her graduation party.... How Well Do You Know The Graduate? What is her middle name? Dahlia What is her favorite color? Blue What is her favorite ice cream flavor? Chocolate What is her favorite holiday? Thanksgiving What is her biggest pet peeve? Tardiness What is her favorite food? Fish If she could go anywhere in the world, where would she go? Ireland What was her favorite subject in high-school? English (funny side note - she hated English in grade school and had to take 4th grade English three times!) What is her dream job? Writing or  Acting What shoe size does she wear? Size 7½ What is her favorite book genre? Fiction What super power would she choose? Invisibility or Flying What is her favorite movie? Lord of the Rings How many musical instruments can she play?  

Tuesdays With Morrie - What a Great Book!

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"The last class of my old professor's life took place once a week in his house, by a window in the study where he could watch a small hibiscus plant shed its pink leaves.  The class met on Tuesdays. It began after breakfast. The subject was The Meaning of Life. It was taught from experience.  No grades were given, but there were oral exams each week. You were expected to respond to questions, and you were expected to pose questions of your own. You were also required to perform physical tasks now and then, such as lifting the professor's head to a comfortable spot on the pillow or placing his glasses on the bridge of his nose. Kissing him good-bye earned you extra credit.  No books were required, yet many topics were covered, including love, work, community, family, aging, forgiveness, and, finally, death. The last lecture was brief, only a few words.  A funeral was held in lieu of graduation.  Although no final exam was given, you were expected to produce one long p

Class of 2017 - Baz Luhrmann Inspirational Speech - Wear Sunscreen

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My oldest child is graduating high school this year.... where did the time go?!?!  My hubby had me listen to the following speech a few months ago and I keep going back to it....   While it may have been written 10 years ago, I think it is still great advise for today's Class of 2017! Ladies and gentlemen of the class of 2007, wear sunscreen. If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by scientists. Whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable than my own meandering experience, I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth, oh, never mind. You will never understand the power and the beauty of your youth until they've faded.  But trust me, in twenty years you will look back at photos of yourself and recall in a way you can't grasp now -  How much possibility lay before you and how fabulous you really looked.  You are not as fat as y

Lord, Have Mercy Book Review

This book had my attention the minute I flipped it over and read the back cover... "Just when you think you’ve got this wife and motherhood thing down . . .Your toddler expresses his inner Picasso on your freshly painted walls . . . In permanent marker. Your 14-year-old demonstrates her newly acquired modeling skills . . . via every social network known to man. Your husband pulls up in a new car that you can’t afford . . . and only has two seats. Lord, have mercy. What are they thinking?" ...... story of my life!!! Well, not quite, instead of a toddler I have a 7 yr. old daughter and "mess" is her middle name! And my teenager is almost sixteen - but other than that.... it's pretty much right on! .....and my hubby loves pulling in the drive with a mustang.... at one time we had 3 of them, all at the same time. Right now he's talking about a new truck, or RZR for him and the kids, so one or the other will probably be pulling in the drive any day now!

Seven Money Types and What Type I Am

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I am a sucker for quiz books and figuring out your 'type' whatever type that my be.... I love trying to discover who people are, and what makes them do the things they do, or act a certain way.... The Seven Money Types is not a book on how to manage money. Rather, it is a unique approach to understanding how you relate to handling money. This book gives a different perspective on money than any I have ever read. I found it fascinating. It uses Scripture as a baseline and the author does a good job of giving real life examples to back up his theories. This book will change your approach to money, helping you understand other people's interactions with money and your own! What money type are you? I am a Jacob .... My belief is that money should be used to create pleasurable experience (can anyone say travel?? I love to travel and explore the world, creating memories with my family!) I use money to create beautiful moments and buy beautiful things.... spending mon

Asparagus

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This early-spring treat is one of a few perennial vegetable crops, so once you get a patch established, it will give you many years of delicious harvests for little work. Here's my little patch from last year: Asparagus are fresh, crisp, nutritious, and adaptable to use in many different ways. Asparagus are a good source of the following minerals & vitamins: Iodine, Potassium, Copper, Magnesium, Folate, and Vitamins A, C and E.  My favorite ways to eat it are -  Steamed with Eggs... Steam Asparagus on stove top... top with shredded or chopped hard boiled eggs and salt and pepper.  Oven Roasted... This has to be one of the easiest and tastiest ways to cook asparagus. Just trim the ends, lay out on a baking sheet, toss with olive oil, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and Parmesan cheese, and then bake until done.  In a sandwich... We like to use a toasted and buttered bread or bagel. Add bacon, steamed asparagus and a fried egg! *Note: some p

Chewy Rhubarb Crisp

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 Crust Ingredients 1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1-1/2 cups old-fashioned oats 1 cup packed brown sugar 1/2 cup chopped pecans 1/4 teaspoon baking soda 1 cup butter Filling Ingredients 3 cups fresh or frozen rhubarb 1/4 cups cold water 1 cups sugar 2 tbsp. strawberry jello granuels - 2 tablespoons flour 1/2 c. sugar 1 teaspoon vanilla  Directions In a large bowl, combine the flour, oats, brown sugar, nuts, baking soda. Cut in butter until crumbly. Press 3 cups into an ungreased 13-in. x 9-in. baking dish; set aside.  In a saucepan, combine sugar, water and rhubarb and jello. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 5 minutes. Combine 2 tbsp of flour and 1/2 c. sugar in seperate bowl and add to rhubarb mixture, stiring for 1 min. or until thickened. Add vanilla.  Spoon over crust; sprinkle with remaining crumb mixture.  Bake at 350° for 23-25 minutes or until golden brown.  Serve with ice cream if desired. 

The Passion Flower Story

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The passion fruit is a  vigorous, climbing vine that clings by tendrils to almost any support. It can grow 15 to 20 ft. per year once established. The Story of the Passion Flower   I have this beautiful flower climbing on my arch that I walk under on the way to my office entrance. It is so intricate and beautiful, I thought I'd share a little about it with you all. Although it doesn't bloom until summer - it always reminds me of Easter. The Passion Flower (Passiflora) is a symbol of Christ’s Passion and Cross: including his scourging, crowning with thorns, three nails and five wounds. In the 15th and 16th centuries, Spanish Christian missionaries adopted the unique physical structures of this plant, particularly the numbers of its various flower parts, as symbols of the last days of Jesus and especially his crucifixion.   The pointed tips of the leaves were taken to represent the Holy Lance that confirmed Christ’s death. The tendrils represent the whips u

The Best Online High School

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"When it comes to education - there is no school like home!" We home school our kids....  In the past, we have used public school for kindergarten and have tried a couple christian schools, but in the end, it just works better for our family at this point in our life to home school.  Over the years, I have had experience using just about every curriculum out there.... Abeka , CLE, Pathway, ACE , Rod and Staff, and more, but I have found the best curriculum to be the one that is put together individually for each child. For the two youngest, we are currently using My Fathers World and love it! I'll try to do a post on that sometime! For high school, our oldest daughter is graduating this year with a Diploma from Penn Foster High School.  I graduated from Penn Foster back when it was a mail correspondence course and was known as ICS Newport Pacific High School/Harcourt High School. Some of the reasons that we love Penn Foster High School a

Taking Care of Me - Surgery #1

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Over the last few years, I haven't taken good care of myself, and as a result, my health has taken a hit..... when you have a special needs kid, multiple auto immune diseases, cancer, and chronic stress, I guess its somewhat to be expected. But, since I've chosen to take care of myself this year , my health is a high priority. My 1st surgery was Monday, March 20th, 2017 "Surgery is the treatment of disease or injury by cutting into the body to repair or remove the injured or diseased body part". I was extremely nervous. I had never been put to sleep or had any type of surgery before in my life. The surgery went well, the worst things about it were the sore throat from the breathing tube, keeping my pain levels down, and the drive home (I do believe we have the worst roads in the US!).  I wasn't expecting the affects of anesthesia to make me have insomnia for the first three days. Or that doing simple household chores would make me tire s