As I have mentioned before we are using Heart of Dakota Little Hearts for His Glory this year. Here is what is assigned daily:
In fact we were on one of the last two shuttles and the roads were already blocked off for the race by the time the shuttle picked us up so they dropped us off a couple of blocks from the starting line. Rather than fight through this mass of 15,000+ people to get to the start we decided to just jump in where they dropped us off. We were not running competitively anyway, seeing as I am really out of shape and Jess gets shinsplints really badly.
The crowd was pretty overwhelming at times. I have never participated in an event like this so it was a completely new experience for me. It was very exciting to be a part of something with thousands of other people all working together for a worthy cause. Wheeler Mission Ministries is a non-denominational, Christian, social services organization, which provides critically needed goods and services to the homeless, poor, and needy of central Indiana without regard to race, color, creed, national origin or religion.
And here we are post race proudly sporting our Drumstick Dash shirts, ready to head to our respective family Thanksgiving gatherings. What a great way to start the holiday! Thanks for doing it by my side, Jess! Love ya!
Sometimes I have days, maybe weeks where I feel alone. I may be surrounded by people, heck, I'm nearly always with my kids at least... so I rarely am physically alone. But inside... I feel it. It is during those times that I have to remind myself that I am never alone.
But You, O LORD, be not far off; O You my help, hasten to my assistance. Psalm 22:19
Henry Covington was a Detroit preacher who overcame – along with his wife, Annette, played by Tony Award winner Anika Noni Rose (“Dreamgirls,” “Caroline, Or Change”) – a life mired in drugs and crime. Mitch Albom, portrayed in the movie by Bradley Whitford (“The West Wing,” “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”), met the reverend-in-recovery when he wrote newspaper columns about homeless people and homeless shelters. Covington’s I Am My Brother’s Keeper Church provided food and a place -- on the church floor -- where homeless people could sleep.
The other central character in Albom’s book and movie is New Jersey Rabbi Albert Lewis, played by Academy Award winner Martin Landau (“Ed Wood,” “Entourage”). “The Reb,” as Albom calls him, asks Albom – who had briefly attended the rabbi’s synagogue as a child -- to write his eulogy.
On the surface, these two larger-than-life characters, the charismatic African-American preacher and the feisty, funny rabbi, could hardly be more different. But they each in their own way profoundly affect the writer. It’s a story about life’s purpose – losing belief and finding it again – and about the divine spark inside all of us. One man’s journey is really everyone’s story.
I'm here to announce the winners of the Little Angels DVD giveaway...
We made contact paper stained glass windows. I used this tutorial as a guide to get me started. I was going to give the kids shapes to fill in like she does in the tutorial but I decided I didn't want to cut out 20 shapes. So I just let them do their own thing (Nate's is on the right in the pix, his was supposed to be Daffy Duck). Some of them were pretty clear what the kids were trying to make and others... well lets say they were more "modern" art. ;-)
I was inspired by this tutorial on My Blessed Life and modified it for the kids. We let them use a lot of stickers and they had a good time with this one.
For awhile now I have been seeing tutorials for silhouette projects on a several blogs. This one and this one are the ones that I referenced when I planned this silhouette project for the class. I combined the silhouette idea with paper covered notebooks using this tutorial. So the first day of classes I took photos of the kids and got prints made. I cut their silhouettes out then taped them face down on a large sheet of cardboard and spray painted them black. I pre-cut the decorative paper before the class time. Once in class we had the kids do all the gluing. I found pre-cut paper frames at Target (in the school supply clearance) and the kids glued those to the front and pasted their silhouette inside the frame. I was pretty proud. ;-)
I did not take step by step pix of this but I do have a few links if you are interested. I was inspired by some ideas I found on Pinterest. Here is a link that shows how to make a wreath form out of plumbing foam tubing. Have I mentioned how much I love to save money? ;-)
After it was all wrapped, I added the flowers to finish it off. Here is a tutorial for the felt flowers I used. I'm not going to say for who but this wreath is going to be a gift for someone. I'll be blogging about that soon enough. ;-)
Hearty Pumpkin Pancakes
2 cups milk
2 eggs, lightly beaten
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 Tablespoons cooking oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 Tablespoon honey or maple syrup
4 Tablespoons. packed brown sugar2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon apple or pumpkin pie spice1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
optional - 1 cup chopped nuts, chocolate chips or butterscotch chips (or if you're crunchy you could add flax seed, oatmeal or other healthy add-ons).
1. In a large bowl combine eggs and remaining wet ingredients. Stir sugar, spices and other dry ingredients into wet mixture until slightly lumpy.
2. Heat a lightly greased griddle over medium heat. For each pancake pour approximately 1/8 cup batter onto griddle - I like to fit four small pancakes on a square pan. Cook until golden; turn when tops are bubbly and edges are slightly dry (about 1 to 2 minutes per side). I don't usually get a good count on how many pancakes this makes because we eat them as we make them - but I paid attention today and got a count of about 30 sm/med pancakes! Top these babies with your choice of syrup, caramel drizzle or cream cheese frosting!
