Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Cupcakes

Yum!!!  Enough said.  Really.  I'm not a big cookie dough fan, but Shelia is.  I made her these cupcakes for her birthday.  I must say, they were good!!  Rich, but good.  The cupcake itself tasted like a chocolate chip cookie, then it had an eggless cookie dough filling in the center.  It was topped with cookie dough icing, mini chocolate chips, and a mini chocolate chip cookie.  Seriously, this was one of the best cupcakes I've made as far as taste goes.  Super Yummy.  A bit time consuming, but worth it!

A Few School Moments

I am so far behind trying to blog about school, that I am going to make a post with several school things we have done.

Tricorn Hat

We made tricorn hats out of construction paper to mimic the hats worn by George Washington.  The kids had a blast with this because they love wearing things on their heads!  I thought Ella's was especially hilarious.....it said "I love Captain Ella."  Crazy girl!

 



 Feather Pen

When studying the Declaration of Independence, we had to make ink and a feather pen and Ella had to use it to sign her "John Hancock."  We made the ink out of cherries and used a turkey feather she had found in the woods while at Charles' family reunion down in the country.  She found that writing and drawing was much more time consuming like this!

Crazy Hat Night

Ok, so this isn't school related, but I had to throw it in just because they are so cute.  We had crazy hat night at AWANA and we made these hats straight from the girls' imaginations.  We went to Hobby Lobby and bought the supplies.  Ella's had a colorful boa around the brim with multi-colored pipe cleaners and fuzz balls out of the middle.  Leah's had a bird's nest made of pipe cleaners with three birds and feathers around the brim.

Persevere

With each letter Leah learns, she has a biblical truth the learn as well.  For 'Tt' she had to learn that "I do not quit; I persevere."  We studied about how God instructs us to persevere and the character qualities that follow from doing so.  We also talked about the turtle and how he is an example (like in the story of The Tortoise and the Hare.  This is Leah's turtle we made out of paper plates, paint, and construction paper.  She did learn a lesson.  One day she came to me in tears because she couldn't find a barbie accessory and she said, "I haven't given up, Momma.  I keep persevering."  It was actually quite precious. 

 Pioneer Food

Another project that we did was to cook food that the pioneers would have eaten.  I'm gonna be honest, this one made me a little nervous.  I really thought this stuff was gonna be gross, but it wasn't.  We made hasty pudding and Johnny cakes.  The hasty pudding tasted like grits, and the Johnny cakes tasted like biscuits (I thought it would be more like fried cornbread, but it was more like biscuits).  The brown stuff on the Johnny Cake is apple butter (recommended by MFW).

 

 

 Again, all of these projects were not my original idea.  They were all suggested and described by the MFW curriculum.  I love how they have us do activities that tie in with exactly what we are learning and make it so simple.  I am certainly not creative enough to think of these things myself!  The kids love the projects and it really makes things "stick." 

 

Pumpkin Patch 2012

We took our annual trip to the Pumpkin Patch.  We had a great time.  We were able to do all the things we normally do....pony ride, inflatables, pumpkin picking, and a picnic.  But this year, we were able to also use this day as a field trip that reinforced some of the things they (mostly Ella) have been learning in school.  We were able to see indians dance, explore their tee-pee's, and learn first hand from them about history. 

On the wagon behind the tractor going to pick out the pumpkins

In the pumpkin patch

Playing in the hay

Coming down the inflatable slide

Ella on her pony

Leah's first pony ride.  She was very nervous at first but ended up having alot of fun!

In front of the teepee

The Indian Show

Dancing

Picture with the Indians

We had a great day and were so glad to count our fun family day as a field trip, too!!

Great Women's Conference

I am crazy behind on my blogging and hope to get caught up soon.  This post is going to be "out of order" according to date, but I just can't wait to share. 

I just returned from a women's conference with my a group of ladies from my church.  Our speaker was Candise Farmer from Enough Grace Ministires.  Let me just say, this was God-ordained.  The timing, the subject matter, everything.  What a sweet, sweet time we all had in Jesus!!  Her testimony is one of infertility and subsequent depression and spiritual doubt and confusion.  But, God has restored her and she teaches that God and God alone is the one who takes us through the wilderness and brings us out on the other side having changed us in order to bring Him glory.....and that His grace is sufficient to sustain us through it all.  Like she said, her struggle was one of barrenness, but the same principles apply to no matter what our struggle.  She showed us the movie Paper Dreams and the sessions built off of scenes in this movie, but again, are principles that apply to each and every walk of life.  We all got a copy of her book and study guide Green Pastures of a Barren Land
and I cannot wait to dive in! 

Not only is she a great teacher, but soooo down to earth and easy to know.  I would totally hang out with her if she lived in Prattville :)  We laughed because we had so much stuff in common...."dumb" phones, no cable, no Facebook (until recently when her board of directors told her for ministry sake, she needed to hop on board).  She joined in our crazy games and avocado facials! 

Her home is in Paris, Tennessee.  Her website is www.enoughgraceministries.com .  If you have an opportunity to impact women's ministry in your church, I HIGHLY recommend her!!!  I cannot tell you how much I appreciated her ministry to us this weekend.