Quotation Tent Cards for Your Thanksgiving Table

Yesterday, it rained all day (I actually like those days if I don't have to go anywhere), so I spent some time making tent cards with Thanksgiving quotations to adorn the Thanksgiving tables at my parents' house.

I found this wonderful and FREE printable from Finding Home, and I printed out two copies on nice, thick resume paper I had laying around. (I also pinned the link to my Pinterest board Ain't She Crafty? for later reference.) I cut them apart using my little handy cutter from my scrapbooking days.

I dug through my stash and found some Avery note cards. Did I mention my scrapbooking days? I also have a fairly large paper supply. I sorted through that and selected pretty papers that measured 5 1/2 inches by 8 1/2 inches. I cut those in half.

I glued the pretty paper onto the front of the note cards and then I glued on the quotations. Voila!

Now I have pretty tent cards for our tables.

I had only Tacky Glue on hand; if I were to reconstruct this project, I'd use a different adhesive. The Tacky Glue is a little too lumpy. But since these are for my personal use and also since I'm an "eh-that's-good-enough" type of gal when it comes to crafts, I'm okay with it.

How are you planning to set your Thanksgiving table?

Confessions of a Mediocre Cook: Old-Fashioned Chocolate Layer Cake

Miss Priss's 14th birthday was last month. (I know! Fourteen!) As per our tradition, she and I perused cookbooks looking for the perfect birthday cake for this year. I've made several of her cakes over the years, and some were triumphs, I must admit. (As a mediocre cook, I'll take any triumph I can get.)

Alas, we couldn't seem to find just the right recipe. She wanted a chocolate cake this time, so when our cookbooks and a few cookbooks from the library did not satisfy, I began to search the web. You might ask why I didn't start there in the first place; I actually enjoy thumbing through cookbooks.

I found this recipe; I don't recall exactly how I found it. But I pinned it, so I will always know where it is when I need it in the future!

I didn't have the required number of squares of unsweetened chocolate, which led me to call my chef friend in a panic. As ever, she solved my problem: unsweetened cocoa powder and shortening. It worked like a charm. You can see the Crisco in the photo above.

I also made one other alteration to the recipe: instead of plain water, I used strong coffee. I simply stirred a heaping teaspoon of instant coffee crystals (which I keep around for recipes) into the measured hot water. I like the added depth that coffee provides to chocolate recipes.

For those of you who are culinarily challenged, a caveat: making this cake is a real production! It's not at all difficult, but it takes some time investment. And it IS an investment because the result is SO worth it.

Doesn't the batter look luscious? That's because it is, my friends. It is.

Making the frosting is also quite a production. But it is a major sin to make such a wonderful, perfect cake and then smear it with cloying, chemical-laden canned frosting. I loathe canned frosting.

Here's the recipe for the frosting, by the way. This is one of the best frostings I've ever had the pleasure of eating from a spoon. Which I did. Twice.

Recommendation: If you have a chocolate lover in your house or a big celebration in the future (or both), this is THE cake for you. A+

One of My Earliest Memories

Photo credit

My very early memories are like still photographs. I'm told this is true for a lot of people.

When I was three years old, my daddy took me on a date. First we ate supper at Alfie's Fish and Chips, a restaurant long gone. I have a memory of sitting at the booth and admiring the bottles of malt vinegar. After that we went to see Song of the South at the fabulous Fox Theatre in downtown Atlanta. I can recall sitting in the plush upholstered seat next to my dad, trying my hardest, I suppose, to take it all in.

My dad remembers this outing much better than I. His short-term memory has been tricky for several years now and sometimes his long-term memory is faulty, but he firmly holds on to a storehouse of moments like these.

My dad and I look alike; I don't look anything like my mother (who was a contestant in the Miss Georgia beauty pageant in 1964, so it's sort of a shame I didn't take after her). My reddish curly hair and blue-green eyes are courtesy of my father's side of the family, although his hair was dark blond. So is my keen sense of the ridiculous. I missed out on his mathematical genius and strong strategy skills. I wish I'd gotten those as well. (Did I mention he was a nuclear health physicist?)

In late May of 2004, his aorta tore and he underwent emergency heart surgery, during which he suffered two strokes. He was in and out of the hospital that summer, with one health issue leading to another, the most upsetting of which was his lungs filling with fluid on a regular basis. We were stressed, anxious, and worried that he'd never be the same again.

And he wasn't. The lung issue was diagnosed as congestive heart failure, a condition from which he'll never recover but for which there are meds to keep it under control. The strokes caused some minor brain damage: memory loss, short-term memory issues, trouble balancing, and unsteadiness on his feet. He also has diabetes and blood pressure problems. He sleeps quite a bit and gets weary easily.

In March, he had surgery for a cancerous tumor in the lining of his stomach. The surgery was successful and no chemo or radiation were necessary. But he, who got great pleasure out of eating good food, now eats small meals and often has very little appetite.

We are all so keenly aware of the blessing of more years with my dad. We've always been a loving family, but now Dad goes out of the way to let each of us know how much we mean to him, how precious we are to him, and how much he loves us. He is joy-filled, and loves to laugh as much as he always did -- maybe more. And he's just as witty as ever. He has a gift for making everyone feel comfortable -- the pinnacle of graciousness.

And he loves a mean Scrabble game. We have the best time when we play. One day I'll tell you about the time I beat him with the word "quark" on a triple word score.

That's a brief sketch of my dad: always supportive, always loving, always loyal. I love him more every day.

In the beginning. . .

Photo credit

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. In him was life; and the life was the light of men. And the light shineth in darkness; and the darkness comprehended it not.

That was the true Light, which lighteth every man that cometh into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not. He came unto his own, and his own received him not. But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name: Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth.

-- John 1, selected verses, KJV


Blessings for a merry Christmas as we celebrate Emmanuel, God with us.

My Favorite Day -- and a Dessert Recipe

Photo credit Foter.com

Thanksgiving is my favorite day of the year.

I've shared before that my mother is the ninth of ten children, so my extended family is large -- beautifully large. A great many of us gather together on Thanksgiving, and there's almost always a baby to pass around. On that day, more than 70 family members bow our heads and profess our great gratitude to God for the blessings He so freely gives.

We also laugh a lot. We are a fun-loving group. Miss Priss says, "I love hanging out with my cousins that I usually only see once a year at Thanksgiving."

Then there's the food. Traditional Thanksgiving favorites are there, of course, but so are Grammie's mac and cheese; beef bouillon rice; corn casserole; and tasty new dishes on the buffet line. It's a potluck affair. It's taken Himself a few years to get used to, actually. Our first Thanksgiving together, he skeptically watched me prepare a broccoli salad.

"You don't have broccoli salad at Thanksgiving," he commented, his voice dour.

I replied, "You do at my family Thanksgiving."

Once we arrived at my cousin's house, he saw what I meant. "I've never seen so many casseroles at one time."

For Miss Priss, this is just the way Thanksgiving is. "I like all the different foods because our Thanksgiving is potluck." My heritage is now hers.

This Thanksgiving, I'm bringing something for the dessert buffet. We had it for dessert at book club last week, and it is scrumptious. Since I love you, I am sharing the recipe.

Spiced Pumpkin Cake
1 box spice cake mix (I used Duncan Hines)
1 15-oz (or thereabouts) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour (or use baking spray, like I did) a Bundt pan. Mix ingredients together and then blend for two minutes. Spread batter in prepared pan and bake in center of oven for 35-40 minutes, or until cake springs back when pressed gently. Let cool in pan for several minutes, and then carefully turn pan over and release cake. Cool completely. Cake tastes better when made a day or so before serving.

Rum-Cream Cheese Glaze
4 ounces cream cheese, softened
1 T butter, softened
1 T rum or 1 t rum extract
1 T orange juice
2 cups confectioners sugar

Blend first four ingredients until creamy and smooth. Gradually blend in confectioners sugar. Heat in microwave 15 seconds. Spoon over cooled cake.


My God richly bless you and your family!

A Flood of Halloween Candy? Here's What to Do

We have quite a bit of leftover Halloween candy at our house, and I'd rather it didn't end up as extra baggage somewhere on my body -- say, my hips. Also, I'd rather the girls not eat every single piece they received. (I am a mean mama.) So I did a bit of research on things to do with pounds of candy -- besides eat it all right away.

Donate It
I was glad to learn about two nonprofits that accept candy donations to send to our troops. Mailed donations need to be sent by December 1, 2012:

Operation Gratitude/California Army National Guard
Halloween Candy
17330 Victory Blvd.
Van Nuys, CA 91406
Attn: Rich Hernandez

Operation Shoebox
8360 E. Highway 25
Belleview, FL 34420

(Scroll down the page for Operation Shoebox's Halloween candy donation info.)

For other possibilities closer to home, check with your church, your local food pantry, or area American Legion posts.

Craft with It
Advent will soon be here. Use some of your kids' leftover Halloween candy in an Advent calendar or construction paper chain that counts down days til Christmas. Just glue or tape a candy piece to each paper link (for the chain) or behind each "door" of the Advent calendar. For more crafty ideas, here are some links:

How to Make a Candy Garland
Homemade Advent Calendars
Advent Crafts for Kids
Advent Calendar Activities

Cook with It
Lots of your kids' candy is great for cooking! Chop up those chocolate bars, even the ones with nuts or filling, and add to cookie dough. You could even get a jump on some baking by whipping up a few batches and freezing the dough.

Here's the results page for a Google search I ran, "cooking with leftover Halloween candy." Lots of great ideas are here!


If you have any other ideas, I'd love to hear about them!

Before They Push Their Boats from the Safe Shore

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Earlier today, Miss Priss finished reading Jack and Jill, by Louisa May Alcott, and she quite enjoyed it. At the end, she called me into the family room, where she was curled up under a blanket on the couch, to read aloud to me the last paragraph. We both thought it was lovely and wanted to share it with you. Perhaps you'll be inspired to add this book to your children's reading list.

There are many such boys and girls, full of high hopes, lovely possibilities, and earnest plans, pausing a moment before they push their little boats from the safe shore. Let those who launch them see to it that they have good health to man the oars, good education for ballast, and good principles as pilots to guide them as they voyage down an ever-widening river to the sea.

Words both wise and true, don't you think?

I have been considering today that the second sentence ought to be my mission statement, since I serve as both parent and teacher. As we all know it is far too easy to get turned aside by the minutiae of life. Often, I allow the tricky trivialities to have too much power in the day to day. These little tempests in teacups are tricky because they seem important -- critical, even -- at the time, but are mere and momentary distractions, blips in the big picture.

If I reduce down to the essentials those things I want my children to carry with them when they push their boats into the stream, it comes to this:

• Your faith is not only the foundation of your life, it is the structural support. Stand firm in its truth.
• Your education is a lifelong pursuit. Never stop learning.
• Your principles define your character. Strive to be Christ-like in all you do.

But if I say all this and don't live it myself, then all my words are like chaff in the wind. Do I live like my faith is the structural support in my life? Do I pursue my own education? Do I exemplify Christ in my life? My answers, as always, tend to be, Not as much as I want to. Not as much as I need to.

How much better we'd all be if I focused on the essentials and not the ephemera; if I talked less and lived more; and if I welcomed in grace and ushered out the useless pursuit of perfection.

What a blessing that would be.

A Celebration of Sabbath

I’ve slept late the last two mornings. Shamelessly late. I’ve drunk coffee until almost noon. Flavored coffee with full-fat cream. I’ve read my books at brunch while munching homemade muesli with chopped nuts, dried cranberries, and brown sugar. I’ve savored chocolates brought to me from Germany. Soft chocolate drops filled with lime cream.

It feels richly decadent.

I’m writing this on my deck, sipping Lemon Zinger iced tea and watching the children swim in the lake. The temperature is perfect; the air is clean and clear. I’ve quieted the “shoulds” and “musts,” all the things I need to do, the remaining plans to make for the upcoming school year…

It feels quiet. Wonderful.

After months of a life that’s best described as reined-in chaos, I finally feel relaxed. An ahhhh has settled into my soul.

I know it won’t last. It can’t last. Like the speaker in Frost’s poem, I, too, have promises to keep. And I’m glad for those promises, those responsibilities. They are the best of privileges.

Is that perhaps why we feel guilty, like we're wasting time, when we say yes to the calm, the quiet, the peaceful? Shouldn't we be doing something? With our lists, our plans, and our responsibilities, we who are so used to doing much and filling our lives with busy-ness can actually feel anxious at the thought of basking in sabbath.

Jesus knows me, and He knows what I need, personally, to best fulfill all He has asked me to do. A time of rest and refreshment -- and a bit of chocolate – restores me.

I wonder why we often neglect to refresh ourselves in the gracious blessings the Lord sprinkles throughout our lives? Especially those of us whose lives are lived nourishing others, serving, reaching out, drawing in, encouraging, daily clasping to ourselves the things of God so that we may open our arms wide and offer it abundantly to other souls.

In the last couple of months I've noticed that my offerings have seemed small, not so much in the size of the service but very much in the spirit of my serving. Is reluctant service really service? Or is it merely another chore? I’m not sure.

But I am sure that it's time to rest.

So I say a resounding YES to this blessing of respite with a heart full of gratitude. And I pray you will, too, whenever respite is offered to you, in whatever form, small or large. This is one of God’s marvelous gifts to you.

This morning, my dear friend called to me from the beach, where she was wading in the lake. “The water is so gorgeous today! Isn’t this the life?”

Yes. It most certainly is.

Lovely photo courtesy Foter.

Happy Birthday, Tiny Girl!

Eleven years ago today, our sweet Tiny Girl joined the family. She is proof positive that God's plans are best. Miss Priss's babyhood was challenging, and I was not sure I wanted another baby. But when Miss Priss was six months old (!!!), we learned we were expecting number two. I was more shocked than thrilled.

Fast forward to now. (Actually, you really only have to fast forward to six months after we'd learned the news, but every day deepens my appreciation....) Tiny Girl is such a blessing to us all. She's fun, happy, enthusiastic (sometimes a bit loud), easygoing, and generally agreeable. My dad's nickname for her has always been Miss Merry Sunshine. As a toddler, she looked just like Cindy Lou Who, which only added to the complete package of fabulousness.

Our gracious Lord has blessed us richly, more richly than I could ever have imagined.

A Heart Full of Thanks

A heart full of thanks is one of the greatest blessings.

We are packing up to make the trip to my cousin's house for our extended family Thanksgiving. My mother is the ninth of ten children, so there is always a large gathering -- typically around 70 people -- and that's not all of us, either!

Children run in and out, a few of the younger males congregate around the TV to watch football, the more senior members gather in the sunroom to chat, and someone usually plays a few tunes on the piano while others sing. It's really great fun. It's also my favorite day of the year.

And the food! With everyone bringing a dish or two, our buffet line is bounteous. Turkey, of course, along with ham, casseroles, salads, other side dishes, and homemade yeast rolls. My sweet aunt who always made her famous dressing passed away this summer; I wonder if someone else will attempt her recipe. I hope so. In keeping up traditions, we pass on the important things to our next generation.

Happy Thanksgiving!

A Chocolate Thanksgiving Dessert

Every Thanksgiving, my extended family gathers at my cousin's house for a big potluck hoopla. (More on this later.) Since it's about an hour and a half from my house, I can't bring anything that needs to stay hot, so I tend to select a dessert, salad, or appetizer. This year I'm bringing a dessert for the dessert buffet table, and my offering is Anne Byrn's "Darn Good Chocolate Cake," a Bundt cake featured in her cookbook, Chocolate from the Cake Mix Doctor (page 116-117).

Darn Good Chocolate Cake, by Anne Byrn (with notes from me)
1 pkg (18.25 ounces) devil's food or dark chocolate fudge cake mix (I chose Duncan Hines devil's food because all Duncan Hines cake mixes were BOGO)
1 pkg (3.9 ounces) chocolate instant pudding mix (Be careful here! Jell-O brand was the only instant that measured correctly)
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup water*
1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used canola)
4 large eggs
1 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips (I used Hershey's Special Dark chips)

* You know I tinker with recipes. Instead of using plain water, I heated 1/2 cup of water in my microwave til hot and then stirred in one heaping teaspoon of instant coffee. I let it cool before proceeding with the recipe.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray with nonstick spray and then flour a 12-cup Bundt pan, shaking out excess flour, and set aside. (I used Pam for Baking, which includes flour.) Place in a large mixing bowl cake mix, pudding mix, sour cream, water, oil, and eggs.

Blend with electric mixer on low for 1 minute. Stop machine and scrape down sides of bowl. Blend for 2-3 minutes more on medium, stopping to scrape down sides again if needed. Batter will be thick. Fold in chocolate chips, distributing them well throughout the batter.


Velvety smooth goodness!



Pour batter into prepared pan and smooth out with rubber spatula.

Place pan in oven. Bake til it springs back when touched lightly, about 58 to 62 minutes. Remove pan from oven and place on a wire rack to cool for 20 minutes. Run a long, sharp knife around edge of cake and invert it onto a rack to cool completely.

At this point, you could dust with confectioners sugar, but I did as Byrn suggests. I gilded the lily with her "Martha's Chocolate Icing," because, with chocolate, there's no such thing as too much of a good thing.

Martha's Chocolate Icing
1 cup granulated sugar
5 T butter
1/3 cup whole milk
1 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Heat sugar, butter, and milk in a medium sized saucepan over medium-high heat. Stir til mixture comes to a boil. Continue stirring until sugar dissolves. Remove from heat and stir in chocolate chips, stirring until chocolate has melted and mixture is smooth. Pour icing over cake and let it flow over the sides.

I opted to use a ladle to pour the icing, and I found it set up quickly, hence the uneven appearance. I tried to smooth it out with a spatula, but that made things worse, so I let well enough alone. There was a bit of icing left over, which I quickly scarfed down. That stuff is wonderful!

The cake is now resting in my cake saver, awaiting the moment tomorrow when it will be revealed in all its glory.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Book Club Tonight! And We're Eating Cake

I've been part of my book club for many years, and it's one of the things in my life that really makes me happy. I'm grateful to Himself for encouraging me to join, indeed even asking one of the members (they worked at the same office) if there were room in the club for me.

I know some book clubs are more social than literary; ours is a mix of both. We have a great time together at our monthly meetings, but we also discuss the books we're read. Whoever hosts the meeting picks the book and wines and dine everyone, too.

I chose Eat Cake, by Jeanne Ray, for our November book. I've read it before, and the storyline pops into my mind from time to time. It's meatier than a beach read, but not as heavy as some we've read. Frankly, it's delightful. I'm looking forward to discussing it this evening.

For supper, I'm serving a (fake) cassoulet with crusty bread and fried green tomatoes alongside a nice red wine. The weather is cooperating with my chosen menu: it's windy and chilly outside this evening. Dessert will be ginger-pear cupcakes with creamy lemon frosting. I considered a fancy cake in keeping with our book, but I just wasn't up to it mentally or culinarily. (I'm quite certain the latter is not a word, but it suits perfectly what I wanted to convey.)

I'll leave you with this quotation from the book:

Cakes have gotten a bad rap. People equate virtue with turning down dessert. There is always one person at the table who holds up her hand when I serve the cake. No, really, I couldn't, she says, and then gives her flat stomach a conspiratorial little pat. Everyone who is pressing a fork into that first tender layer looks at the person who declined the plate, and they all think, That person is better than I am. That person has discipline. But that isn't a person with discipline, that is a person who has completely lost touch with joy. A slice of cake never made anybody fat. You don't eat the whole cake. You don't eat cake every day of your life. you take the cake when it is offered because the cake is delicious... a cake is a party, a birthday, a wedding. A cake is what's served on the happiest days of your life.

So I will bite into my cake this evening with relish!

Keeping the Sabbath

Last week, I started a new Bible study called Brave, by Angela Thomas. It's my neighborhood study, which I've attended for years. Whatever Carol, the teacher (and one of my dearest friends) chooses as the curriculum is fine by me. Who wouldn't want to be brave, right?

So I was surprised when I delved into the first week's work and found that the topic was weariness. Actually, I wasn't surprised as much as I was struck. I've been weary for a while now, not just in body but in spirit, too. It really couldn't be a coincidence. Could it?

Well, in a word, no. There are no coincidences with God.

But just so you know, I am not one of those women who can say with confidence, "God told me to... (fill in the blank)." God doesn't really tell me anything. I sort of baby-step along, and if a red flag pops up or I feel miserable about something, then I pretty much know that's a NO from God. It's all very What About Bob? in my life. (Aside: What About Bob? is a funny movie if you haven't seen it. Very quotable, which in my house, makes it a good thing. Bob baby-steps a lot.)

Back to Brave. And weariness.

One of many excellent points Angela makes in this study is the importance of a Sabbath rest: "The Sabbath rest is God's gift to us" (p. 23). She goes on to say, "To observe the Sabbath we should worship the Lord and rest from our work. . . . On the Sabbath I rest from my work and all the words and studying. To make dinner for my family is a joy for me. It restores me. I believe I have permission from God to enjoy what feels like rest for me" (ibid.).

In years past, I've had more of a Sabbath attitude than I do now. Saturdays were usually errand and work days, and I left Sundays for reading or crocheting while Himself watched sports on TV or (yes!) even napping. All after church, of course.

But things have changed. My Saturdays are often busy with my children's activities, which leaves Sundays for school planning, errands, work around the house, etc. This is clearly not working for me. Why have I ignored God's gift to me?

Caught up in the busy-ness of our lives, I have viewed the day of rest as another day in which to get things done. And instead of feeling a sense of accomplishment, I've felt exhausted.

I need to get back into a Sabbath mindset. But what does that look like in my life? After a bit of thought, I believe it means a day of no planning, no schoolwork, no computer. I'd also like for it to be a day of low cooking and housekeeping responsibilities.

What about you? Do you need to establish a Sabbath practice in your life? Or, if you already do, what are your thoughts? Care to share?

The Personal Within the Mystery

Today we observed World Communion Sunday at my church. The music was inspiring, the hymns meaningful, and we celebrated communion in my most favorite way: intinction. In case this is unfamiliar to you, I give you these words from:

Wikipedia: "Intinction is the Eucharistic practice of partly dipping the consecrated bread, or host, into the consecrated wine before consumption by the communicant."

Merriam-Webster Dictionary: "the administration of the sacrament of Communion by dipping bread in wine and giving both together to the communicant"

I realize that some faith traditions have a problem with intinction theologically, but I try not to get bogged down in questions such as these. Instead, I immerse myself in the moment. Here's what happened this morning.

I stand with my pew row and walk to the front of the church with my family while the choir sings You Satisfy the Hungry Heart. I'm directed to a station where two ministers stand holding the elements. I select a piece of bread from the basket.

This is the body of Christ...

I dip it into the cup.

The blood of Christ shed for you, Ellen.

I partake and return to my pew.

There was no lightning bolt, no mystic vision, no epiphany. I was merely one of hundreds in worship this morning who came forward to dip bread into cup. And yet...

And yet.

For me, intinction as a means of celebrating the sacrament of the Lord's Supper is much more personal than the pass-the-tray-along-the-pew method. It's more active, requiring commitment on my part. I stand. I come forward. I take the elements. Then, those beautiful words.

The blood of Christ. Shed for me.

And since the ministers know me by name, I am called by name. No longer just one of the crowd, I am known. And it means so much to me that I am known -- not by the ministers, you understand -- but known by Jesus.

This is for you, Ellen, all for you.

It's all for you, too.

Summer Afternoon, Summer Afternoon...

Summer afternoon, summer afternoon. . . the two most beautiful words in the English language.
-- Henry James

To which I say, Amen!

Himself arrived last night to spend a few days with us at the lake. After a bit of dreariness, the sun is shining today, and the expected high is 78 degrees. Tomorrow, friends arrive to spend the day. We are looking forward to lots of boating, bright blue skies, lobsters, and a high of 82.

Bliss.

Belated Birthday Musings

We celebrated my (ahem) birthday a couple of weeks ago. On Friday night, Himself took me and Miss Priss out for dinner (Tiny Girl attended another birthday sleepover) and bought me a lovely cake. Another day, friends threw me a little tea party with homemade lemon scones. I received several books, including One Thousand Gifts, by Ann Voskamp, and The Unbearable Lightness of Scones, by Alexander McCall Smith, and FOUR Amazon gift cards. I've used about half the value on Kindle downloads. Yay! We also went out to eat with my folks and my sister and brother-in-law.

By Sunday evening, Himself asked me, "Are we done celebrating your birthday now?"

My absolute favorite gift came from my daughters: a handmade certificate, which read:

This certificate is for Mama

for an Amozon (sic) Gift Card

for $20 $25

and you don't have to pay!

First, I love it that I was deemed worthy of another five bucks. Second, I am supremely happy that I don't have to pay.

Weekly Wrap-Up: "Winter Break" and Rembrandt

Happy Friday! Our local schools, public and private, were on "winter break" this week. Despite the girls' irritation, I saw no need to take a frivolous break, but did designate a bit lighter than normal week. In fact, we took Wednesday off because it was Tiny Girl's tenth birthday (read all about our day here). Our celebration of her first decade continues, since my folks arrive later today to spend the night, and we're all going out to eat tonight. The handyman at the barn where she rides gave her this little nosegay and a glass horse ornament:

We took a break from spelling and our math lessons were shortened, but other than that we operated normally. Bible, poetry (Dickinson), copywork, grammar (still adverbs), piano, French, and literature continued smoothly. Miss Priss is in the final third of Anne of Green Gables, reading aloud to us the best parts. Tiny Girl began The Princess and Curdie, by George Macdonald. They continue to grouse about Robinson Crusoe, and have asked that I begin reading it aloud to them instead of their listening to an audio version. I'd rather not, but in the interest of promoting this work as a Good Thing, I will do so.

In our history and biography lessons, we enjoyed more from George Washington's World; chapter two of Abigail Adams: Witness to a Revolution; and This Country of Ours, specifically, the origins of Carolina. We're nearing the end of Plutarch's Julius Caesar. This week, we came to his famous declaration: "Veni, vidi, vici"; which means, "I came, I saw, I conquered." Pretty much sums up Caesar, in my mind. The girls also completed a project for the Homes and Villages pocket of History Pockets' Colonial America: diagrams of a colonial village:

I have to feature both or suffer the consequences.

Much to everyone's delight, we were able to spend some time considering two Rembrandt works from our What Makes a Rembrandt a Rembrandt? book. Both works are remarkable examples of Rembrandt's use of chiaroscuro (light and dark). To hear how this is pronounced, click here.

The first we studied was Anslo and His Wife. Click here to view this painting on the Art Project website. The small window at the right of the painting allows you to zoom in closer to examine parts of the work in marvelous detail. If you don't see this window, move your mouse cursor over the area where it should be, and it will pop up.

Before we considered the painting Belshazzar's Feast itself, we read the story in the book of Daniel. Click here to view this painting on The National Gallery (London) website, which also offers a wonderful zoom feature. What amazed us about this particular work is how Rembrandt depicts the luster and richness of the gold objects and Belshazzar's robe without the benefit of metallic paint. Zoom in on the painting to see what I mean.

We had a great time with the Great Backyard Bird Count. The species with the most representatives in our backyard was the goldfinch. They sucked down the nyjer seed in a matter of days!

Jasper completed his beginning obedience class and earned a certificate. Yay! We plan to take the intermediate course in March and earn his AKC Canine Good Citizen award.

Well, that's our week. I hope yours was lively, educational, and enjoyable!

Happy Birthday, Tiny Girl!

Today is Tiny Girl's tenth -- tenth -- birthday! We took the day off from school to celebrate. Her heart's desire was to go to the mall, so we did. She got a couple of pairs of shorts; some new shoes; some clothes for her Build-a-Bear bunny, Daphne; and lunch at Chick-fil-a. Then, tonight after church, we scarfed down a delicious lemon cake in honor of the day, she opened some cards -- and is now rich by her standards -- and Grammie and Grandad, as well as her sweet Aunt Lala, called to sing Happy Birthday.

Ah, bliss.

Words desert me when I try to convey in any way what a blessing she is to our family. Certainly, all children are blessings from heaven. But Tiny Girl was not only unplanned for, she was also unlooked for, and I was not delighted when I discovered I was expecting her, for a host of reasons.

But.

She is yet another marvelous, glorious example of how God's plans far outweigh, outshine, and simply out-wow any plans we could ever make for our lives.

In short, I can't imagine life without her.

Valentine's Day Treats

In honor of the special day, the girls and I made Himself his favorite cookies. These are the best peanut butter cookies I've ever tasted. The flavor is intense and the texture is rich. If peanuts are a no-no in your house, a friend of mine made a very successful batch with Sun Butter.

Best-Ever Peanut Butter Cookies
1 cup creamy peanut butter*
1 cup sugar
1 large egg
1 teaspoon baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. With a mixer, cream together the peanut butter and sugar til well combined. In a small bowl, lighly beat the egg, then add to peanut butter mixture along with the baking soda. Mix til all is combined. Roll level teaspoons of dough into balls and place 1 inch apart on greased or parchment-lined cookie sheets. Make crosshatch pattern with fork on dough balls, pressing lightly. Bake for about 1o minutes until puffed and golden. Cool on cookie sheet for two minutes, then remove to baking racks to cool thoroughly.

* You can use either commercial or natural peanut butter, but I prefer commercial for this recipe. If you choose natural, be prepared for some serious crumbling!

Life is a Celebration

While I was waiting for a doctor's appointment, I happened to pick up a magazine (from 2007, of course) to flip through and ran across an astonishing essay by Dagny Scott Barrios. After her mother died, Dagny helped her father go through her things in the house. She came across her grandmother's china, lovingly wrapped and shut away in a dark cabinet. She pulled out a few pieces and began unwrapping them to use for the next meal.

"Not those," her father protested. "Those are for..." But he stopped speaking because the special occasion those dishes were saved for would never come now.

Dagny owns the dishes now and uses them regularly for simple meals, like roast chicken and sweet potatoes. She writes so eloquently:

Because always savings one's best things for a better day, a different day, carries with it a judgment: that the life you're living right now doesn't count; that it isn't good enough. And I've decided it is.

I have a set of special antique china, too, which Himself and I spied at an antique shop in Tennessee. Both of us admired it, and he secretly made a trip back there a few weeks afterward to buy the set for me for Christmas. We don't use most of the pieces regularly because they have to be hand washed, and I don't want to face that chore too often. But the girls do use the cups and saucers for tea (I prefer a mug), and I lovingly wash them afterward before placing them back on the display shelves of my china cabinet.

Life is worth celebrating, and one of the ways we can bring joy into our days is to use our cherished and beautiful things, our best things. And breathe a word of thanks every time.