Valentine Gifts

I can't believe I've already finished my Valentine gifts-well, most of them. I found an idea for a candy bouquet online and made those this weekend. They suggested using a box for the base, but I chose a valentine mug. These were very easy but slightly time consuming.

For the girl's friends we'll be baking. I bought little heart shaped aluminum pans for us to make brownies in. Each friend will get an individual brownie in her own little pan. The girls are going to decorate the tops with pink icing and place them in cute cellophane Valentine bags. Of course we have to wait to make these. I'll post those pictures later.

My 3 little ladies are getting a different type of Valentine this year. We're going to see the Hermitage Ballet from St. Petersburg, Russia perform! We're all so excited! The company will perform scenes from "Swan Lake," "Sleeping Beauty," "The Nutcracker," "Giselle," "Don Quixote," "Corsair," plus "The Dying Swan." We managed to get really good seats so that Emma won't have difficulty seeing. We'll certainly have pictures to post from this event. Oh, the girls are getting chocolate too-afterall, what's Valentine's Day without chocolate!

Baby it's cold outside!

Not here, but my buddies in Canada are freezing-literally! I got a call yesterday-they're in the middle of a blizzard and it's -47 C! I can't even begin to imagine what that feels like as I sit here in 70 F (21C) sunny weather. All I can say is those Canadians are some tough people! LOL!

No, this isn't just a pic of farm equipement! See the guy on the far left? He threw a glass of water into the air. Before it could hit the ground it had already frozen in the air-notice the "sparkle" and "steam" up high in the sky. Now that's cold!

Here's our resident Canadian weather forcaster! Check out his glasses-yep, it's cold!

Cytoplasm, Mitochondrion, Chloroplast...

Today my girls had there first "Home away from home school" science class. Mark and I both loved science in school (his degree is in Biology and mine in Nursing). We want to do everything we can to insure the girls have a good science background and most importantly, that they enjoy it.

For over 2 hours today they were immersed in "The Cell". They collected samples of pond water to look at under the microscope and surprisingly found their first look at Rotifers! They studied dead reptiles, algae,etc-all under the microscope. They were able to see a whole new world today thanks to the instruments and a teacher who is passionate about the study of life all around us.

They've always liked doing science, but today they didn't want to leave. The wonderful thing is that the teacher kept teaching (over our scheduled end time) as long as they asked questions and she saw the excitement on their faces. Not only was their interest in science fueled today, I can happily say they are now "on fire" for science. I'm sure I'll have more to post in the coming weeks as we continue on this new journey.

Good Night, Sleep Tight

It seems like since we got our little kitten our mama dog (Flirt) has been a bit left out. She recently chewed up her bed and is now sleeping on a towel. I started feeling really sorry for her and decided to make her a new bed/quilt. I had some old pieces of cotton fabric that we had previously used for tablecloths at the barn. I call this being thrifty and recycling fabric (some people would call it being cheap!). I doubled these and put batting in the middle, stitched the edges; machine quilted the middle; added her name monogrammed on a piece of red fabric and...VOILA! A new place for our favorite yellow lab to sleep. By the look of things, I think she likes it too.

C'est Bon!

This is so good that I knew I must share it. My husband brought home the Yogi Tea to begin with. He started with the peach detox. Over the last month we've added several flavors. I love to start my day with a hot cup of Detox-with burdock, dandelion, sarsaparilla and juniper berry. It's the strong ginger and cinnamon flavor that I love.

One of my new favorites is Mayan Cocoa Spice-Yumm! In my opinion, anything with the flavor of chocolate is good-add cardamom, cinnamon and clove and this is a perfect cup of tea. The aroma is just at delectable as the flavor!

Never Alone

"And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever...I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you."~John 14:16,18

(This was the key verse in my devotional for today-how fitting)

Do you ever have a day when you just feel like you'll explode because you're so happy? I felt that way today. I have a smile permanently fixed on my face and a warm glow overflowing from my heart. This year, more than ever, I've really felt God's presence-His arms around me, holding me tightly. I've also seen His love shining through the friends He's sent to surround me. I'm so very lucky to have such strong, Christian women around me. My day was brightened today by lunch and visiting with 3 of these women. I couldn't have had a nicer time-catching up with them as our children played nearby. I laughed with another on the phone discussing all the crazy happenings of day to day life-homeschooling our babies. And yet another was on my mind as I purchased a special peach detox tea that I know she's been searching for. I'm so blessed just with my beautiful family, but God in His mercy chose to bless me further with these special women. I don't say it often enough, but thank you to my friends and thank you to my Heavenly Father for always looking out for me.

"A man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother." ~Proverbs 18:24

Petite Chaton!

No narration here...the pictures say it all!