Overhead: The Food Edition

When we went to Savannah for my cousin’s wedding last month, Jason and I drove past a Chuck E. Cheese on the way to the rehearsal. Knowing we would pass by the dreaded mouse house many, many times during the next two days, we devised a plan…

Every single time we approached that area, Jason and I would take turns saying things like this with as much excitement and enthusiasm as we could muster while pointing to the opposite side of the road:

“Look! It’s a Bennigan’s! Athens used to have a Bennigan’s, but it closed down years ago! I haven’t been to a Bennigan’s in so long! It was pretty good, from what I remember!”

Really, we gushed and babbled so excitedly about Bennigan’s, I was sure the kids would catch on, perhaps during an especially dramatic roll of the eyes--but it worked, even with all of the groans from the back seat with every comment we made. And Jason and I secretly high-fived each other with every pass along that route even as the boys wondered if we'd lost our minds.

We never ate at that Bennigan’s while we were in Savannah (for obvious reasons), but we did eat lunch at one on the way back home. As we were leaving, Robert said, “I don’t know what you loved so much about that place. It wasn't that great.”

See? No clue. And, for those of you who know our family in real life, let's keep it that way!

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Josiah: I think better when I eat.

Good thing he wants to eat all the time, huh?

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Each of the kids put in their 2 cents about where they wanted to eat one day, which is interesting because that’s about as much as they could have contributed to paying for the meal…Anyway, Grace really, really wanted what she calls a “chicken burger”--the little chicken sandwich from Wendy’s. I told her we weren’t that close to Wendy’s, so that wasn’t an option, but she could still get a burger (which she normally loves). Her response?

Grace [cheerfully]: OK…I’ll just pretend it’s a chicken burger!

OK, and I’ll just pretend you’re always that easy to please.

~~~~~

Me: Come on to the table--it’s time to eat.

Josiah: "Eat"…I love that word…

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Josiah: Now I feel like a real man!

Robert [laughing]: How does this make you feel like a real man?!? You’re drinking hot chocolate out of a little cup with a smiling snowman on it, with miniature marshmallows!!

There's nothing like a big brother to burst your bubble.

So maybe you really can rush Mother Nature

My son Josiah is known for his kooky ideas inventions, such as the giant birdbath, an interesting desk, and a swing on one of the trees in the front yard.

He does the best he can with what he has on hand...like a tree that isn't the kind of tree that would be good for a swing.

His most recent invention was born out of impatience. He is anxious to rake leaves, and the vast majority of ours are still, well, firmly stuck on the trees.

So...he's going to help them fall with what he calls

The Leaf Swacker.

Swack!

Swack!

Swack!

You can see it's going to take him awhile, even with this marvelous invention. ;)

It makes a great "rock star" prop, too. ;)

Patent pending...

You Capture: Food

This week’s theme of the You Capture blog carnival hosted by Beth over at I Should Be Folding Laundry is food.

Now, that's not too much of a challenge this week, is it? ;)

I could show you what I fixed for supper last night...chili.

I used a new recipe for the chili. Actually, I used bits of two chili recipes together to make this. And I didn't write down anything about what I used and how much I used and what I didn't use, so there's little chance of perfectly replicating the taste...but that's OK. I think my husband is almost used to my methods of cooking. It's usually a little different than the last time. ;) (Still good, according to him...and that's what counts.)

But what about today, on Thanksgiving? This is what we ate for Thanksgiving dinner:

I get off easy at Thanksgiving...I merely bring green bean casserole (I know, I know...you either love it or you hate it!), macaroni and cheese (so Robert, my picky eater, will eat something besides bread), and something for the dessert table.


I hope each of you had a Happy Thanksgiving!

Jesus said, "Do not work for food that spoils, but for food that endures to eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. On him God the Father has placed his seal of approval."

Then they asked him, "What must we do to do the works God requires?"

Jesus answered, "The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent."

(John 6: 27-29 NIV)

Jesus declared, "I am the bread of life. He who comes to me will never go hungry, and he who believes in me will never be thirsty."

(John 6:35 NIV)

Check out I Should Be Folding Laundry for more You Capture participants.

Lions and tigers and bears! Oh, my!

This was an idea I had bumping around in my head for a couple of years, after several trips to a variety of zoos and more animal photos than I knew what to do with. I recently remembered my idea when I was going through some boxes in a closet and found a framed photo of a lion and another one of a tiger, plus a blank frame.

I was just waiting for a good photo of a bear.




And now I had one!

No, not that kind of bear (but thank you, Jason, for filling the empty frame that I had already put up on the wall)...

This bear replaced Winnie the Pooh today.

Are there any Wizard of Oz fans out there?

If you give a girl a protractor

If you give a girl a protractor

she's going to want to trace it.

So she'll ask for some paper and crayons.

When she gets the crayons and the paper, she will draw the cutest rotund girl with a dimple at her chin.

(Grace always draws a dimpled chin when she draws faces of people!)

...And then the little girl will tell you that she drew a picture of you.

~~~~~

The next morning, the little girl's Daddy will hold up the protractor and ask, with a gleam in his eye,

"Can you draw a picture of me?"

And the little girl will say,

"No, Daddy, you're too big!"

And you will laugh and laugh...

You Capture: Sunsets and Sunrises

The theme for this week's You Capture challenge is sunsets and sunrises.

To which I said, "Yeeeessss!"

I kinda like sunsets. If you've been coming to my blog for any length of time, you know I take shots of sunsets whether Beth tells us to or not. ;)

There is the subtle, glowing kind...






The light, feathery kind...


And, my favorite, the dramatic kind, where you take shot after shot because the sky changes so quickly...

As a bonus, here is a guest photographer's work...my son Robert (age 12) took this shot of a gloriously colorful sunrise.

To see what everyone else captured this week, head over to I Should Be Folding Laundry for more You Capture participants.

And join in the photography fun next week! New participants are always welcome!

If you are looking for an honest babysitter, I can recommend one for you...

Last week, Jason and I had a babysitter. (Whoo hoo!) When we came home from our date, we found Grace, who doesn't like to go to sleep in her own bed, asleep in the sofa cushions beside the babysitter.





The babysitter sighed and, nodding towards Grace, wistfully said, "I'm looking forward to having one of those someday."


I chuckled and told her, "You have to be careful, though, because sometimes you have to earn one like this," as I gestured towards the boys' bedrooms.


Without skipping a beat, our babysitter said, "Well, you earned her."

;)

Giveaway winners

With the help of my goofy lovely assistant

(That's a pink turtleneck shirt she is wearing for her "hair.")

who drew the numbers for me, I am pleased to announce this week's winners:

• Cindy won the thank you cards.
• Dawn S. won the 16x20 rolled canvas print.
• Leah won the 18x24 poster print.

Congratulations! Look for an email from UPrinting on November 20th--The email will have a coded link for you to claim your prize.

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For those of you who found me by way of Angie at Many Little Blessings, all of my giveaways have ended. However, I typically have giveaways each month, so you can check back again soon. You can also sign up to receive my blog posts via email by entering your email address in the little box near the top of my left sidebar. (Your email address will not be used for any other purpose except to receive future posts from this blog.)

You Capture: Real Life

Real life is messy.

Real life is colorful.



Real life is about fulfilling our roles to the best of our abilities.

Grace pretending to be Josiah's teacher

Real life is full of suprises.

A morning glory I found in our yard at 5:00 p.m. today!

Real life is, hopefully, sprinkled with lots of laughter.

See? The photo shoot that seemed to last forever wasn't that bad...

And real life can only be found through faith in Jesus Christ.

Photo taken at the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist

Jesus said, "I came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of."

(John 10:10b )

Check out I Should Be Folding Laundry to see more You Capture participants' real life.

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Click over and leave a comment for a chance to win with my current giveaways! You could win a poster print, a canvas print, or thank you cards. These giveaways end on November 15, 2009, at 10:00 p.m. All giveaway products are totally customized by you and professionally printed by Uprinting.com.

New photos of Grace

After seemingly endless bad shots, with Grace looking away and/or with the strange smile she wears in the presence of a camera

And after bribe shots (as in, "Mommy, I'll smile if you take a picture of Emily first."). Hmmm...I took about 5 photos of Emily...

We were finally able to get some good shots

and some sweet shots

I think I finally have a new favorite photo of Grace.

(She just looks so serious!)

Here Grace pretended to take a picture of me, and I, of course, pretended to look away. Hey, just returning the favor...

Click over and leave a comment for a chance to win with my current giveaways! You could win a poster print, a canvas print, or thank you cards. These giveaways end on November 15, 2009, at 10:00 p.m. All giveaway products are totally customized by you and professionally printed by Uprinting.com.

Wordless Wednesday: Our Studious Old Testament Scholar

This is what Grace looked like as we arrived at Henry and Wanda's home last week...asleep on a stack of books, with the top one opened to the story of Jacob and Esau.


Visit 5 Minutes for Mom for more Wordless Wednesday participants.

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Click over and leave a comment for a chance to win with my current giveaways! You could win a poster print, a canvas print, or thank you cards. These giveaways end on November 15, 2009, at 10:00 p.m. All giveaway products are totally customized by you and professionally printed by Uprinting.com.

Brochure giveaway winner

John is the winner of my recent brochure/flyer giveaway!

Congratulations!

Giveaway: 18 x 24 Poster Print (NOW CLOSED)

How about another fantastic giveaway? How would you like to have a favorite digital photo made into an 18" x 24" poster?



All you have to do is leave a comment to win a photo enlargement poster print from UPrinting.com!

• Giveaway prize: (1) 18x24 poster print for One Lucky Winner
• Size: 18x24 Poster
• Paper: High Gloss or Semi Gloss
• Shipping: FREE UPS Ground Shipping in the US
• Eligibility: Limited to US Residents

I have already had this photo made into a poster for Josiah's room...It'll be one of his Christmas presents. (Shhh! Don't tell him!)





For hosting this giveaway, I will also receive an 18 x 24 poster print. I plan to have a poster printed for Robert's room as a Christmas present...I just need to figure out what to have printed. It's not like he's of an age where he'd like a poster of himself sitting up in a tree, right? It's a little harder with him...I'm working on straightening up and blacking out the background of this photo that he took at a car show. If it turns out well, I'll use this photo for the poster. He loves cars, and I think he'd get a kick out of having a poster made from a photo that he took. I also plan on changing the license plate in the front to show the name of one of his favorite bands. (Shhh! Don't tell him!)

Actually, I was kicked offline so many times while posting these giveaways tonight, you can see my progress on the car photo! (I was working on it while waiting...and waiting...and waiting...) I still need to touch up a few areas and put the band's name on the license plate, but here's what I have so far:

To enter to win, leave a comment on what you plan to do with the custom poster print! If you subscribe to my blog posts by email or by feed, leave an additional comment for a total of two chances to win. (Want to receive my blog posts in your inbox? Enter your email address in the box near the top of my left sidebar.) When you leave a comment, make sure I have your email address.

I will select a winner from the comments at 10:00 p.m. on November 15, 2009. Prizes will be awarded on November 20, 2009, via a coupon-coded link emailed to the winner.

What would you have printed as a poster? Leave a comment and let me know!

Check out reviews from UPrinting customers at Yelp.com. You can also follow this link for more information about UPrinting.

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Click over and leave a comment for a chance to win with my other current giveaways! You could also win a canvas print or thank you cards. These giveaways end on November 15, 2009, at 10:00 p.m. All giveaway products are totally customized by you and professionally printed by Uprinting.com.

16x20 Rolled Canvas Print (NOW CLOSED)

I have another fantastic giveaway to offer you from UPrinting...a 16x20 Rolled Canvas Print! A couple of months ago, I received one of these canvas prints printed with an image I had designed for our newly launched Children's Church program, Adventure Kids. This is what it looks like framed:

As a do-it-yourself framing project, I bought the framing supplies from Hobby Lobby...I bought the frame for $12 (it was on sale for 50% off), a 20 x 30 inch foam board for $4 (easy to cut down to size with scissors), and some adhesive to attach the canvas to the foam board (mine was $3). I highly recommend getting the spray adhesive...5-10 seconds of work vs. 15-20 minutes of carefully "painting" the glue on the canvas? And then waiting for the glue to dry? Trust me...go with the spray.

As an aside, Josiah was rather bothered by the rough wooden frame...He said, “It’s as if they didn’t bother to finish their work.” I explained that it was for an artistic effect to have a rustic-looking frame, but I don’t think he bought it.

(Josiah being bothered by unfinished work? Really?? Has he looked at his own room lately?!?)

I will also be receiving a 16 x 20 rolled canvas print from UPrinting.com for hosting this giveaway. I would love to have this photo of Grace printed--I took it in September 2008 and it's my favorite photo of her so far.

(I desperately tried to get a more recent "favorite photo" of her today...I'll let you know if any of the shots turned out. She did a lot of her infamous eyes darting away and goofy, sideways smiles...and sometimes both at the same time.)

• Giveaway Prize: (1) 16x20 Rolled Canvas for One Lucky Winner
• Size: 16x20 rolled canvas
• Shipping: FREE UPS Ground Shipping in the US
• Eligibility: Limited to US Residents

To enter to win, leave a comment on how you plan to use the custom thank you cards! If you subscribe to my blog posts by email or by feed, leave an additional comment for a total of two chances to win. (Want to receive my blog posts in your inbox? Enter your email address in the box near the top of my left sidebar.) When you leave a comment, make sure I have your email address.

I will select a winner from the comments at 10:00 p.m. on November 15, 2009. Prizes will be awarded on November 20, 2009, via a coupon-coded link emailed to the winner.

What would you have printed on the canvas print? Leave a comment and let me know!

Check out reviews from UPrinting customers at Yelp.com. You can also follow these links for more information about UPrinting's canvas prints and posters.

~~~~~


Click over and leave a comment for a chance to win with my other current giveaways! You could win a poster print or thank you cards. These giveaways end on November 15, 2009, at 10:00 p.m. All giveaway products are totally customized by you and professionally printed by Uprinting.com.