Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday- Daddy's Favorite Meatloaf Stuff Bell Peppers

 

2 lbs ground beef

1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese

1cup ketchup

1/2 cup ketchup

3/4 tbsp tyme

3/4 tbsp basil

3/4 tbsp garlic

3/4 tbsp capers

half a medium yellow onion

1/4 cup bread crumbs

Bell peppers cored then sliced in rings

Preheat oven 400 degrees

Mince all spices in a large pile.  Rough chop the onion.  Blend spices, bread crumbs, capers, and 1 cup of ketchup, and cheese.  Be careful not to over work meat.  Form the meat in to balls and place in bell pepper rings.  Top with remaining ketchup.     

Place in oven for about 20 minutes or until cooked through.

RainDrop Refelctions

What a week this has been.  We got home from our camping adventures and have not really slowed down.  Monday I tried several times to figure out what was wrong with my BRAND NEW washer.  Never could figure it out.  I had to give up and call Lowes services to get it looked at under the warranty.  When I called the next available time for service was FRIDAY!!!!!!!!!!  UUUUGGGGG camping stinky laundry, not to mention regular laundry, we will all be naked by Friday!  Thank God for Mrs R., Pooh Bear's helper, she took some towels and underwear to her house for us.

Tuesday, we worked on scrapbooks for the Kids from Around the World.  I am trying to get the albums finished of their time here in the USA.  I wanted to be able to at least have some done for their farewell party on Saturday.  The other RainDrop Family came to go swimming that morning and Aunt T took every one to the pool!  Then, that evening, I went to meet with my Girl Scout co-leader (both of the troops for the girls is the same wonderful friend) and another leader about the possibility of merging her troop with our older girls troop.  I did not get done until after 10pm.  That is WAY past my bedtime!  On top of that I really hate driving after dark.  I have not ever been diagnosed but I think I have some night blindness, so I try to not drive after dark.

Wednesday I went to help my dear co-leader clean out her daughter's room.  She was at camp and I told her I would help since she has been here more than once to help me organize the school room.  She was also sweet enough to let me take a load of underwear and The Man of the House's pants for work to wash in her washer.  THANK YOU Resource Queen!  We were also able to plan a good portion of the Little Sister Troop meetings while I was there.

Thursday was a cleaning day for the party.  We got most of the downstairs done and worked some more on the scrapbooks.

Fridays from Memorial Day to Labor day The Man of the House has what his company calls summer hours.  He goes in 30 minutes early every day and get off at 1 on Fridays.  That is an awesome perk!  On his way home he stopped and picked up Little T and brought him home with him.  Snoopy was getting his first ever official sleepover with one of this friends!  When he got home we ALL including Little T and Mrs T went to tackle the upstairs and the school room.  We knocked it out in about an hour and half and were done for the day.  Then Mrs. T took Boo to her house for a sleep over.  The man of the house and I went shopping for the party.  When we got home the girls and tried to get as much done on the books as we could.  Once again I was up past my bedtime.  Ba bo houng said she was up until 3am.  I only made it to midnight lol.  Oh by the way yes the washer got fixed!  We are doing LOADS and Loads of laundry!

Saturday was a wonderful and kind of a sad day.  The Man of the House took the little boys to the movie so we could get the scrapbook stuff put away and get ready to PARTY!  We had a house full of loved ones and friends, for the girls.  They were so excited to have some many loving them.  It was a special day for us all. 

Thaly with her Boyfriend

Bo ba houng and Mrs. T

Bo ba houng, Papa, Nana, Thaly

Bo ba houng and Cousin S

Bo ba houng and Cousin Mac

Gifts

Grandma,Thaly,  Great Aunt B

The Albums

The cake!!  We have planned this for months!!!  The girls found it as funny as we hoped.

Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

Orange Chicken

Found at Allrecipies.com

Ingredients

• Sauce:
• 1 1/2 cups water
• 2 tablespoons orange juice
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/3 cup rice vinegar
• 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 tablespoon grated orange zest
• 1 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon minced fresh ginger root
• 1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
• 2 tablespoons chopped green onion
• 1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 
  
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 2 tablespoons water
• 
  
• Chicken:
• 2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1/2 inch pieces
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3 tablespoons olive oil

Directions

1. Pour 1 1/2 cups water, orange juice, lemon juice, rice vinegar, and soy sauce into a saucepan and set over medium-high heat. Stir in the orange zest, brown sugar, ginger, garlic, chopped onion, and red pepper flakes. Bring to a boil. Remove from heat, and cool 10 to 15 minutes.
2. Place the chicken pieces into a resealable plastic bag. When contents of saucepan have cooled, pour 1 cup of sauce into bag. Reserve the remaining sauce. Seal the bag, and refrigerate at least 2 hours.
3. In another resealable plastic bag, mix the flour, salt, and pepper. Add the marinated chicken pieces, seal the bag, and shake to coat.
4. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Place chicken into the skillet, and brown on both sides. Drain on a plate lined with paper towels, and cover with aluminum foil.
5. Wipe out the skillet, and add the sauce. Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Mix together the cornstarch and 2 tablespoons water; stir into the sauce. Reduce heat to medium low, add the chicken pieces, and simmer, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

RainDrop Reflections

This past week was a mix of slow and steady and lot of craziness.

We had planned a camping trip for the weekend and started our week with the final plans and menu making. We found out that the other RainDrop Family (my brother and sister in law and their children) were not going to be able to join us, so we shifted plans to go with a friend. Thaly was making her plans to head to Florida with the church youth group.

Well guess what. Thaly and I both ended up wit a stomach bug on Wednesday night, and Thursday. Thaly wanted to go shopping for food for the camp out on Thursday, but did not make it past the first 2 stops before the grocery store, poor girl! If I could have gone home I would have too. That was a nasty bug. While was doing the shopping Thaly called and told me there was no way she could ride the bus from Texas to Florida feeling like that. I was not surprised at all.

I got things together Friday to head the camp ground. Lo and behold the washer was not working right (my brand new washer!!!!!!!!!!) I was still feeling crappy in the tummy and The Man of the House had the tummy bug too, along with Pooh Bear!

There I am packing for camp 2 hours later than I wanted to be and leaving 2 more home than was the plan. But we finally got there. Got camp set up and made a run to town to go to WalMart. While I was doing that the rest went to the lake to cool off, we then enjoyed our evening of Hobo dinners and s'mores.

By the way I put a hex on one of my kids for the first time ever. Ba bo houng made her dinner with lots of spices. Of course she is Asian! I got her Hobo dinner! OMG!!! I have never had my lips burn from my nose to my chin! I would never make it in Asia.

The next day we spent the afternoon at the beach area and had a blast. The water was cold but once you got it it was great! I took the float out and just let the water carry me where it wanted to. After playing for 3 hours on the lake we headed back into camp.

This is where our weekend started to take a turn for the worst. The 2 mommy's sent the kids to the shower. My friend and I waited for them to come back as we sat and drank some water and put of a box fan outside to help cool us off. When the kids got back from the shower we headed to shower ourselves. The water felt great just on cold. We cooled off and headed back to the campsite. The kids made us moms a sandwich and we set back to enjoy it.

My friend looked at me and said she did not feel good. She was pale and decided sitting in the car in the A/C would be best. Her daughter got her keys and they walked all of 6 feet to the car. Next thing I knew her daughter was YELLING my name. By the time I got over there she had passed out.

I started yelling for wet towels, to get the kids concentrating on something else, while I started checking her pulse and such. She was only out a few seconds when she started to come around then passed out again. Not only did she pass out she had a convulsion. At that point I called EMS. Turns out she was dehydrated, very dehydrated! She took a trip to the ER. I called The Man of the House but he was still sick. We decided to pack up and head home. I was blessed to have another WONDERFUL friend who could bring a truck up to the camp and help us get home.

My poor friend was kept for about 5 hours in the ER getting fluids. She was told that at our age ( we are not 16 any more) we should be drinking enough to have to go to the bathroom every 20 minutes, when it is this hot out! REALLY those stairs down to the swimming area were a killer (100 steps believe me I ask the Rangers). So not worth climbing and descending every 20 minutes. I think we will stay home for the summer and drink our water here!

Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

This recipe came from Simply Recipes
Ingredients

• 1/2 pound dry fettuccine pasta
• 3-4 Tbsp unsalted butter
• 2/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
• Black pepper

Additional, for creamy version:

• 1/2 cup cream
• Nutmeg

Method

1 Bring a large pot of salty water to a boil and drop in your fettuccine.
2a Plain version Melt the butter in a large sauté pan set over low heat. Once the butter has melted, turn the heat off.
2b Creamy version Melt the butter in a large sauté pan set over low heat. Add the cream to the butter as it melts. Stir often to combine the two, do not turn off the heat, but keep the heat at its lowest setting while the pasta cooks.
3 When the fettuccine is al dente (cooked, but still a little firm) lift it out of the pot with tongs and move the pasta to the sauté pan. Do not drain the pasta. You want it dripping wet with the cooking water. Turn on the heat under the sauté pan to medium and swirl the pasta and butter together to combine. Add half the cheese, then swirl and toss the pasta until it has incorporated into the sauce. If needed, add a few spoonfuls more of the pasta cooking water. Add the rest of the cheese and repeat.
4 Serve at once with either a little black pepper (for classic version) or nutmeg (for creamy version) ground over the pasta.
Yield: Serves 4.

Scripture Sunday

• Psalms 118:4

  4 Let them now that fear the Lord say, that his mercy endureth for ever.

RainDrop Reflections

Wow can you believe the public school year is over?! Boy did it fly by.

We took this week off from school ourselves and just played a bit. Next week is back the routine. However we did enjoy just a laid back, whatever happens, go with the flow kind of week.

We had a wonderful time on Monday with family celebrating and remembering those who have given the highest price for our freedom. I was given the opportunity to explain the holiday to our kids from around the world. Which in turn made me really think about what these brave men and women died for us. To stop and think that for us to have the opportunity to homeschool our kids, raise them up in the knowledge and understanding of the Lord, to vote for our leaders, to even have the opportunity to have a family the size and how we feel we are being led, all of this comes from those who fought and even died during so many conflicts and wars. It humbles me to know that others laid down their lives for us. Thank you to those who fought and died for me and my family to our so many freedoms.

Tuesday was spent getting things picked up and cleaned up from the weekend and getting ready for the new mattress The Man of the House bought us. Our delivery time was not until 6-9pm. Good grief I had no idea they did that kind of stuff that late! Ba bo houng did not have school that day as she did not have to take her English final. It was fun to have her hang around for a while. The Man of the House enjoyed the Mavs game at least until they lost!



Wednesday Thaly was finished with school for the year, but Ba bo houng had to go. But other than that it was a pretty quite day!

Thursday we had a real treat. Grandma came to see us. We have not seen her since Easter. I know that is really not that long but we all really enjoy when she comes or we get to go see her and Papa. We spent the morning at home then went to Hobby Lobby when the kids from around the world got home. I am helping the girls make a scrapbook about their time in the USA. So we went shopping for the book and a few special items to go with it.

Friday was a rather busy day. Mrs.T, who is Snoopy's helper, brought her grandsons Little T, baby T, her daughter the Divine Miss J, and two of her nieces. WOW what a full house and so much fun! The Divine Miss J took all the kids to the pool at about 1:30. They were there the rest of the day! They only came home long enough to get some snacks and drinks when they ran out of what they took! The finally got home to stay about 5:30. They had so much fun but they were so tired and water logged!


I took the kids from around the world to a scrapbook store Friday night. We got there about 4:30 and were there until MIDNIGHT! That is so past my bedtime, but we really enjoyed our time together! However Thaly and I both have seemed to get a sore throat. We both have felt puny since Friday boo hoo.

Saturday was quiet again. Thaly and I have just been taking meds and resting trying not to give the sore throat to anyone else. But Snoopy had a blast that afternoon with Mrs R, Ashlyn's helper. She took Snoopy and Little T to her house to play with her son in thier new TREE HOUSE!!!

We were supposed to get family pictures done today, but I am not sure Thaly and I are up to it. We will most likely stay home and maybe work on the scrapbooks some more. Have a relaxing day with the family.

Oh I forgot to tell you about our new bed. The Temperpedic is AWSOME! I am loving it and so is the Man of the House. He says his back is not bothering him quite as much in the mornings. That is seems to be improveing some every day!

Silly Saturday

Boo's favorite word makes me laugh!

SERIOUSLY!

Friday Mommy Moments

This week's Mommy Moments come thanks to Snoopy.

Discussing the new room arrangements for the fall, with the new kids coming in, Snoopy piped in "I DON"T want to share a room with Pooh Bear!"

We then ask him "Why not Buddy?"

His answer "She stinks and eats too much KETCHUP!"

Talk about thinking I was going to wet my pants laughing! The whole house was shaking with all of us laughing. All I could say was "well she may not want to share with you cause you eat too much PEANUT BUTTER!"

Thankful Thursday

This week I am eternally grateful for my parents this week.
1 Nephi 1:1

• 1" I, Nephi, having been born of goodly parents, therefore I was taught somewhat in all the learning of my father; and having seen many afflictions in the course of my days, nevertheless, having been highly favored of the Lord in all my days; yea, having had a great knowledge of the goodness and the mysteries of God..."
  

My parents have taught my so much in my life. They have loved my when I am was my most unlovable and celebrated with me when all was right with my world.

Knowledge, and by that I mean book learning, was only a small part of they have taught me. They have taught me about love, understanding, mercy, caring, compassion, courage, strength and so much more.

As I look back on my childhood I know we did not have much as far a monetary possessions, but truly that is not what I remember. I am sure I complained that I wanted more "stuff," but not having stuff is not the memories I was left with. The things I remember and cherish are the tender moments and the fun times we had. Later as I got older I remember the scarifies they made so that we could have things and go places to have experiences and learn.

I remember on Relief Society evenings when mom was gone, sitting on Daddy's lap eating frozen peaches. We would sit all evening with Daddy, enjoying time with him. Mom was always at every school party, activity, or meeting. They had the upholstery shop yes, and she did work there. But she would take the time off to be there for us, then spend late into the evenings working in the shop to make up for the time she missed.

We did not not have much money for vacations and trips, yet they made sure we did enjoy time away from home. We camped, made over night trips, spent time with grandparents, and friends.

As I grew up and became a teenager my life, by my own doing, became fraught with turmoil. And of course that meant theirs was too. Mom has told me many times since then she would not wish a teenager like me on her worst enemy. Thank you mom for not visiting the mother's curse on me. Yet they never gave up. They never stopped loving me.

During that time mom would spend time on her knees almost constantly in prayer for me. That I am sure is how I survived those years. Daddy and I would hardly speak to each other at that time. Yet I knew he loved me. It was my choice to have the silence. There were times when we had not said a word for a week yet on Saturday evening we would both end up in front of the TV to watch Doctor Who on PBS. No words were exchanged, but were in the same room!

My time of trails ended, and I was able to look back on my life during that time and realize it was all my own fault. I was able to see the pain I caused myself and my parents. When I went to them to ask forgiveness it had already been given. They were there as they had always been to love me and accept me for all my strengths and weaknesses.

As I have had my own family I understand the reason there were there no matter what. The love they taught me I now give to my own children. Because of the love they showed me I am able to give love to my children and my husband, my foster babies, and now my children from around the world.

I was truly "born of goodly parents" they taught me the fullness of the gospel and the love of my Elder Brother and Savior. With the love of Jesus I am able to go to my Heavenly Father and ask for forgiveness and receive it! I have the knowledge that I am a daughter of Heavenly Father and truly have a divine nature! I can teach my own children that they too have that divine nature and are heirs to the Kingdom their Heavenly Father has prepared for them.

I know that my Heavenly Father is here for me when the challenges of being a parent are before me. When life becomes uncertain, I can go to Him and ask for his blessings and know that the answer might not be what I expected, but the answer is right for me and that time. Heavenly Father knows and is in control of all.

This I know because of the example my parents gave me. They have lived their lives with that knowledge in the forefront. Thank you Daddy and Mom for that blessing you have bestowed on me and my siblings. That I may have that to pass on to my own children, and give them that precious gift to them.

Wordless Wednesday