Memory Verse # 18

I'm continuing memorizing my Proverbs passage this week...

Proverbs 4:25-27 (NIV)

Let your eyes look straight ahead,

fix your gaze directly before you.

Make level paths for your feet

and take only ways that are firm.

Do not swerve to the right or the left;

keep your foot from evil.

Re-purposing Idea for Organizing

I really like to be organized, but sometimes it takes me a LONG time to figure out how to best organize things.  I saw a really neat idea last year to help me organize our school supplies.  I don't know where I found it, but it suggested hanging a plastic shoe holder over the back of the door in our school room/Ethan's bedroom to house the school supplies.  Well, that was a great idea but it has been SOOO disorganized ever since.  I truly wish I took a before picture but I forgot to.  I thought about restaging it but decided that would take too long. :)

So this summer I decided it was time to make this organizer worthwhile.

I also had several of the little pencil boxes that I could put in the plastic holders, but I also had several of these due to my boys' love of strawberry milk...

And I thought they would be the perfect size to hold pencils, markers, pens, etc...

When I was cleaning & organizing this summer, I decided it would look so much nicer if I covered those & I just so happened to have a roll of that clear contact paper & some yellow construction paper.  I cut it to size & covered those containers!

I also printed 2 labels for each container...one for container & one for the slot it goes on in the shoe holder.  

I was pretty pleased with the results.

Ahhh...so much better!  And I even have a few that are empty still...just waiting for the perfect little something to be stored in them. :)

What ways have you repurposed some items in your home to organize things?  I'd love to hear them!

Finding JOY in the journey,

Kim

Happy Birthday, Ethan!

Our sweet baby just turned FIVE on Monday!  I don't know where the time has gone!  He has brought so much joy into our lives!  We absolutely love his curiosity & his witty sense of humor!  

For Christmas, Ethan got a Leapster Explorer with two games that teach world geography in such a fun way...Globe Earth Adventures & Dora's Explorer.  

And that began his LOVE of maps!

With those two games, he has learned all of his continents & many facts about major landmarks throughout the world.  He loves looking about maps & learning anything about geography! 

So when it was time to decide what kind of cake he wanted for his birthday, he said he wanted a "flat map cake."  I found some pictures on the internet of world map cakes & he picked out the one he liked the best.  And we HAD to make the fondant continents the same colors as the picture (although 2 of them were the same color & that really bugged me).

So here are a few pictures of the cake making process for BIRTHDAY #5!

He was really proud of his cake!

More to come on his birthday celebration!

Finding JOY in the journey,
KIM

Memory Verse #17

I can't believe how fast this year is passing!  It's already SEPTEMBER, and that means one month closer to the SSMT Celebration hosted by Beth Moore & her daughters, Amanda & Melissa!

September 1 came with a bang...we've had a busy week with starting our homeschool co-op in Nacogdoches & hosting a Choir party & preparing for Ethan's birthday celebration with the family...And then I got really sick in between all of that.  That put me a little behind on posting my memory verse.

"Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life." -Proverbs 4:23

I came across this verse on one of the blogs I read (and I can't even remember which one now) this week and thought that might be a good verse to memorize this time.

So I looked it up in my study Bible and found that I had highlighted this whole passage as some point the past.  It seems like a great passage to hide in my heart and to keep on the refrigerator for the whole family to work on!  This goes right along with the character verses we are working on in school this year.

Proverbs 4:23-27
"Above all else, guard your heart, 
for it is the wellspring of life.  
Put away perversity from your mouth; 
keep corrupt talk far from your lips.
Let your eyes look straight ahead,
fix your gaze directly before you.
Make level paths for your feet
and take only ways that are firm.
Do not swerve to the right or the left;
keep your foot from evil."

Chicken Pot Pie

I love trying new recipes...

When my friend, Patti, made this yummy Chicken Pot Pie for our Bible study group one week this summer, I knew I needed the recipe. I've never made one with a pie crust before. My Mom always made it with biscuits on top, so that is what I've always done. And that is very yummy too!

So here's what it looks like before going into the oven...

And here's what it looked like just out of the oven...

And here's what it looked like on my plate. :) MmmMmm...good!

Chicken pot pie

2-10oz can chunck white chicken drained
2 boxes of ready made pie crust
6 tbs butter
1 cup diced potatoes (cook these a little)
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1 cup frozen peas and carrots
2 cans cream of chicken soup
1/2 tsp ground white pepper
1/2 tsp ground sage (I didn't have any so I didn't use this)
1/2 tsp crushed rosemary (My husband said he'd do without it but I rather liked the flavor!)

Prepare bottom half of 2 pie crust shells and set aside. Melt butter and add vegetables. Sauté 5 minutes then add rest of ingredients. Mix well and divide mixture between the two pies. Place top pie crust on. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes. Reduce to 350 for an additional 40 minutes.

Tip from Patti - I use the frozen onions and as a time saver I have been known to use the julienned cut frozen potatoes. The only reason for white pepper is appearance so I use black pepper because I didn't have white.

Enjoy!

Kim

Peanut Butter Balls

My dear friend & college roommate, Deena, posted this recipe on her facebook & I was too intrigued not to try it. It's a pretty healthy snack & they are really tasty! And I even figured out if you make them into 60 (one-inch) balls, they are only 1.5 points on Weight Watchers! Not a bad little snack that fills you up!

Only 4 ingredients!

Peanut Butter Balls

1 c. honey

1 1/2 c. creamy peanut butter

2 1/2 c. dry milk powder

3 c. quick oats

Mix all together. Form into balls with your hands & freeze on wax paper lined cookie sheets until hardened. Store in freezer in ziploc bags. Makes about 60 balls.

To serve--thaw for as little as 3 minutes to be ready to eat. The longer they sit out, the softer they will be. Warning: Do not try to take a big bite right out of the freezer! It will hurt your teeth. :)

Enjoy!

Finding JOY in the journey,

Kim