TreasuresInTerraCotta

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday and today did not disappoint. We were in the country at my cousin's farm with a majority of my dad's side of the family.  Isn't that a pretty serving table?  Nothing too fancy, but a lot of good home cooking there.  My Aunt Mary K always makes homemade rolls.  My Uncle Bruce always cooks the turkey and cornbread stuffing.  My Grandma always makes cranberries.  My Cousin-in-law Marti always makes chocolate pie.  My Cousin Beth always makes pecan pie. (And even though she was 400 miles away, she still arranged for a pecan pie to appear on the dessert table!) We were talking about how everyone has their "staples" so we always know what to expect. Good thing, because I always like to make something new. This year I made mashed sweet potatoes from the America's Test Kitchen cookbook. They were yummy! And I made a fruit salad so there was a healthy option on the table! ha There were 28 of us this yea...

Our blogger friends who traveled to Ecuador have returned home.  Did you follow along with their trip?  I loved every post...from Sophie's   Spanish blunders to Ann's heart wrenching telling of Jonathan's story .  If you haven't considered child sponsorship through Compassion I would challenge you to read some of the stories and look at some of the faces .  You can make a difference in the life of a child! Our family sponsors three children in Zimbabwe through World Vision .  We have three boys living under this roof and we have three boys living in Limpopo, Zimbabwe.  As each boy was added to our family here we also added a World Vision boy to our family too. Meet Witness (on the left). Calvin was just a baby when he reached out his chubby little hand and grabbed his information packet off the table.  He is 12 years old. Meet Praise (on the right).  He was added to our family after Andrew was born. ...

We are nearing the end of our journey through One Thousand Gifts .  We won't meet again until after Thanksgiving, so you have two weeks to read the last three chapters.  (I would also recommend reading the Afterward.) I have formulated some questions for these chapters and posted them here .  These questions barely scratch the surface of the chapters but, as I mentioned at the beginning, it is my intent to foster some intentional thinking and journaling on at least a few of the new concepts we are meeting in these pages. Have a wonderful thanksgiving!  Now, more than ever, is a time to practice giving thanks for all that God has given us. Otherwise the stress of feeding a small army, fretting over Christmas presents, braving the grocery store this week and all the unspoken and unmet expectations loom large.  Without intentionally  practicing our thanksgiving and thanksliving we are prone to fall into Satan's trap of ...

I left the baby's diaper bag at my grandma's house two weeks ago.  No big deal... Except that my camera was in that bag!!  I feel like half my brain is missing! I didn't realize how often I reach for the camera.  Considering the fact that I take over 200 pictures a month I should have had a clue, but now I am realizing November has been an un-photographed month! Oh the ways I love my camera. Apparently I fancy myself a food blogger because I have had the urge to photograph all sorts of culinary works in progress.  I made some beautiful challa bread, glossy and braided, and Calvin even got his hands in the dough too. Every step diserved its own picture. I made marinara and  minestrone and zucchini bread. I had piles of beautifully diced carrots, celery, tomatoes and zucchini.  And I even baked my very first  spaghetti squash . All those bright veggies really needed to be ...

I had sick kids last week and missed our group discussion and, apparently, also failed to post this week's chapters and homework. I am glad to be revisiting these chapters a second time around.  When I read One Thousand Gifts the first time I felt like I was tracking along with her pretty well through chapter 5 or so.  After that I had the sense that I was more disengaged.  I'm not sure if I was just distracted by life at the time.  Or if my mind was too full from the first few chapters and just couldn't handle any more.  Or if I just wasn't ready or willing to go to the next level.  I am reading words in these chapters that I could swear I have never read before!   I hope you're hanging in there with us as well.  I absolutely believe that this is one of those rare books that can be read again and again with something new affecting you each time. For November 17th we'll read Chapters 6-8. Here's the  link for...

November 8-12, 2011 follow five of Compassion's alumni bloggers through Ecuador.  They will meet the children and families where Compassion serves...from the high-altitude of Quito to the secluded inhabitants of the Amazon rainforest. Through our reading of One Thousand Gifts , we are getting to know Ann Voskamp in our Bible study group.  I think we all have affectionatly referred to her as "Ann."  And I am looking forward to her blogging about this trip to Ecuador.  I am only loosely acquainted with the other four bloggers, but they are all quite popular.  Perhaps you are friends or virtual-friends with them!  You can follow all five beginning on Monday at Compassion .   Ann Voskamp - A Holy Experience   Amanda Jones - Baby Bangs   Sophie - Boo Mama   Melanie - Big Mama   Kelly - Kelly's Korner Look what Psalm 84:10-12 says in The Message. One day spent in your house, this beauti...

I hope you are enjoying One Thousand Gifts . Does it feel like you want to mark every page, highlight every other paragraph or put it under you pillow in hopes to absorb, absorb, absorb.  I know not everyone will feel that way, but I sure do. We had a great discussion today in our Bible/book study group. It is obvious that we are all processing new ideas, being wow-ed by new concepts and trying to let them work in our lives. For next week we will read Chapter 4 and Chapter 5. You can find some questions to help focus you thoughts  here . It's never too late to join in. "Surely the Lord is in this place, and I did not know it." Genesis 28:16

It is very easy to make a superhero cape.  I found multiple tutorials on-line.  Don't let anyone convince you that it is any harder than what it is.  t-shirt scissors felt superhero emblem glue done! This is a great project for old t-shirts. I used shirts that were a couple sizes bigger than the kid I was sewing for.  I have seen multiple people suggest using XLarge men's t-shirts.  That would be fine for bigger kids, but unnecessary for the littler kids.  Cut off the sleeves. Cut up the sides and lay flat. Leaving the neck intact, cut off the front of the shirt.  Round the edges toward the shoulder seam and the back of the shirt. Cut off the bottom hem and round the bottom edge of the cape. There is no need to hem or otherwise "finish" the edge of the cape. Be creative with superhero emblems.  The colored pieces are felt sheets I picked up at the craft store.  Trust me, you can cut out a circle!  Or a star....