Apple Fritter French Toast = Yummmmmm!!!

My son brought home some apple fritters from work yesterday.

My mom gave me the idea to make french toast out of them, and oh, boy, were they sooo good! You can do this with any type of breakfast cinnamon roll or sweet bread for an extra special french toast!

Start with some healthy eggs. These three brown eggs are from our chicken Caramel. One is from Wal-mart.

Slice an apple fritter in half. Be gentle, there are a lot of yummy, gooey apples in inside!

Dip these carefully in beaten eggs and place onto warmed grill.

When cooked, FLIP!

SERVE!!!!

This was SOOO GOOD!!!

A perfect breakfast treat to follow up with my birthday dinner last night!

The Coop is Ready-The chickens Are Here!

From a dream and a vision and a desire to have healthy eggs,

 to Reality!

My Crazy Homeschool Project!

The lumber arrived.

We have a local lumber yard that burns their left over scrap wood. They keep this wood in a pile and we were free to grab odds and ends of wood. My husband was able to rip this wood down to fit our chicken coop needs. This worked fine for framing the coop! Cost = $0.

The children were anxious to help!

There's a lot of learning here, math and science, galore!

SHOP CLASS!

Here my husband is teaching our oldest son how to use a power hand saw. I just have to look away when I see my son using this, but I looked long enough to take this picture! My son WAS wearing safety glasses, I don't see them here in this picture. I think they kept falling off his face while he was bent over!

Keeping the younger kids busy in our sand/water table while the building is happening!

Doesn't everyone need a little entertainer?! Our 6 month old LOVES it outside with his family!

He makes the work light and joyful!

Here is the front of the chicken coop nearly finished with siding.

For walls and roof we did actually buy materials.

Here is what the front of the coop looked like from our back deck before it was painted.

It looked so good, I posted it to Facebook and my mom thought the coop was finished even though she lives next door, (behind the coop!)

 It was a great place to stop and take a family vacation

 because it looked finished, but it was not!

Here are the kiddos on vacation while the chicken coop project sat idle.

There was painting to be done! 

The kids all helped and I can't believe I didn't take any pictures of it! They came in covered in paint!

Here is the finished coop!

Here is a view with the front door open so you can see inside.
Straight ahead are the nesting boxes.

Here is a better view of inside the chicken coop. There are six nesting boxes for our ladies!

Here is a photo of the back of the coop and the custom built door for collecting the ggs!

Here is the egg hatch door open!

Isn't it cool! You can really reach your hands right in and find the eggs!

And here is Caramel sitting in her own nesting box! She hopped right up as soon as we let her in and made herself at home!

I think she likes it here!

"This isn't just another crazy homeschooling project," my husband argued in the past,

 "chickens are a lot of work!"

  The top 5 reasons that kept my husband from wanting to get chickens:

1. a coop-where would it go, what would it look like, would be build it or buy one (probably build one which leads to reason number two)

2. costs-chickens cost money, for the coop, fencing, feed, for the chickens themselves, etc. etc.

3. Time-they take time to care for and you can't just up and leave them and go on vacation, they need care

4. Noise-they can be loud, if we ever got chickens, we would not get a rooster he said.

5. Smell-chickens smell, and they need care, back to reason number 3 and 2.

But in the end the Top 10 reasons to have chickens out weighed the other 5!

1. Fresh eggs

2. Weeds and pest control

3. Table scraps eaters

4. Fertilizers for the garden

5. Educational-great homeschooling lessons here!

6. Fun for the kids-children LOVE chickens!

7. Promotes love of family and farm friends

8. Potential small business opportunity for the kids

9. They're kinda' cute, we get to name them!

10. FRESH FREE RANGE ORGANIC EGGS!

COST OF THE COOP:

Lumber, nails for framing $200

Chicken supplies $ 30

Fencing $150

Chickens $0

Total cost = $380

Bumbo Seat Recall

Okay folks, there is yet another recall on the news today and I am not happy about this! It's not about the modification I'm unhappy about, (I'll explain in a minute) because I'm all for safety and have long since thought this item needed some sort of a safety strap (or was my kid just a Houdini and could wriggle his way out of it?)! What am I talking about...

The Bumbo seat of course!

(Do not use as we are using because we are not using this seat properly. We are using it ON THE KITCKEN COUNTER-BIG NO-NO!)

I was just saying the other day what a great invention this little seat is. My babies get to sit up and feel big in it well before they can actually sit up on their own. High chairs are big and bulky for a four month old and who wants to place a huge, albeit comfy and padded, infant seat on a table for first feeding moments? Along came the Bumbo!

Our first introduction to the infamous Bumbo seat came about four years ago. The first time we put our daughter in it, we opened the box, placed the Bumbo seat in the middle of the living room floor and my husband and I and our three boys all chuckled. It is, after all, kind of silly shaped! We placed my 5 1/2 month old daughter in it, so bright and eager to engage with her older brothers, and she looked up at us like we had just offered her her very own queen's chair! We gathered around her, laid on our tummies to get eye level with her and we had the grandest night of entertainment watching our daughter with a brand new view of the world!

This seat really is one of the greatest, newest inventions for infants! We bring it to the beach and the baby can sit up in the sand while I feed him his lunch. I put it on the picnic table at the park (again, don't do as I do, this is a no-no) and sit beside him and chat with a friend for more than a half an hour. My son loves this seat!

Okay, so if I LOVE this seat why am I unhappy for this newest recall? Well, first of all I can't believe the seat came without a buckle in the first place. It's kind of like when we put astronauts on the moon but forgot to install a place for them to go to the bathroom, this was a no-brainer for me. 

Secondly, "skull fractures? Seriously! This just breaks my heart more than making me feel "unhappy". THE ONLY WAY  a child could get a skull fracture from using this product is if it's being used on counters or elevated surfaces-UNATTENDED. That's what makes me so unhappy. A whole society of people willing to place buckles on infant seats in hopes of keeping our kids safe. Good theory, good practice, but larger things loom that aim to harm our children than missing buckles on seats. Putting a buckle on this seat WILL make it safer, however, it will only INCREASE the lack of parental interaction with the child. It's kind of like when I put a life jacket on my two year-old at the beach. I'm supposed to feel safer and will enjoy MYSELF knowing my daughter has this safety device on. I can relinquish my parenting to a life preserver. It doesn't work that way. Knowing she is wearing a life jacket should make me more conscious of where she is and what larger dangers lie in front of her as she takes bigger risks away from me.

So parents, and caregivers of infants, please go out and get this buckle for your child's Bumbo seat.I just did, it was fast, easy, and painless! But please remember, this is for the safety of the child and will NEVER replace the number one safety factor in her life, YOU! Spend time with your baby. If the Bumbo seat allows you to bring your baby into your activities in a closer way safely, as we have enjoyed this seat, then use the seat. If a strap on it is only going to make you more inclined to walk away and leave your precious one unattended, please don't use the seat, even if it has a buckle. Their lives are just too precious.

"Allow the little ones to come to Me, and do not forbid or restrain or hinder them, for of such [as these] is the kingdom of heaven composed." Matthew 19:14

When the Pastor Leaves the Building

A few months ago our Pastor preached a sermon series on freedom. It was centered around the book, "Freedom Tools: For Overcoming Life's Tough Problems".

It was one of the most literally "freeing" series I had ever heard preached on. God set so many people free those weeks. The church had this great visual of a garbage dumpster and lots of luggage tossed in with words taped to them like, "fear, hopelessness, anxiety, shame, addiction", etc.

 I blogged about this in an earlier post. God set me free from stuff too. What an awesome thing to lay down heavy bags I didn't even know I was carrying around! Have you ever been on a walk carrying a backpack?

You can pick up that backpack and carry it quite easily for awhile. It does become burdensome after a bit,  although you can readjust the fit and it's like the bag becomes part of you. You learn to carry the load, albeit uncomfortably. But when you reach your destination!

 Wow! You set down your pack that seems so much heavier than when you first picked it up and your arms and shoulders raise up high...aaahhhh....FREEDOM!!!

Shortly after this series, our Pastor announced that he was leaving the church as head pastor, leaving MAINE altogether and moving to TEXAS!!!

Wow! EVERYONE was shocked! What?! Why? Why now?! It seems that any answer given just still leaves people dumbfounded. Pastor Brian said, "It's all about family."
"Family?" Really? Yes, you have a wonderful family and you DO have family in Texas. We get that. But what  does this REALLY mean when you say that you are "all about family" Pastor Brian?
Did something happen?! Was there an offence unforgivable? Why would the head pastor of a wonderful church step down and move all the way to hot, dry, dusty Texas?! It seems there were so many things left "undone"! His wife is the children's Pastor. Our children were the losers here too, not just the adults.

Losers?

 Because we have lost something?

 Or are we really only just all travelers on a God journey?

 When someone hears the call of God to a new direction, do you sit around and ask yourself, "did I really hear from God?" and NOT move? I think not. While our pastor in his quiet demeanor has not fully revealed his heart about the move so that everyone can understand, wait a minute...just a second...he DID reveal his heart and reason for leaving, "family". Isn't that enough of a reason? To me it is...to most it is NOT. It's a nice gesture but so many don't understand the true understanding and calling for a man to his 'family".

Years ago, there was a young missionary to Europe who had planted a church. It was doing okay but the missionary revealed that he only had ONE family in the church. He preached about the new "relationship with Jesus" sermons that are popping up all over, "it's all about your relationship".
When asked if he preached about the Biblical principles of what GOD designed a family for well, he didn't have the answers. He felt he couldn't preach on those topics for fear that people would leave the church. The author of the article then answered him,

"I can think of only one solution to a problem in the church: the pastor should preach the Biblical solution to it. “May be you should start preaching and teaching on the family. Thus you will encourage the men to marry, and have families and children, and become responsible adults.”

“I do,” he said. “I preach and teach on the family all the time. I teach on the relationships between husbands and wives, between parents and children, I preach on what a wonderful gift the family is, I preach on how God blesses families.”

“Hmmm,” I said, “the relationships stuff will attract and encourage mostly women. But what about what attracts the men? Do you preach and teach purpose, what the family is created for? Do you teach the commandment to multiply and replenish the earth, have many children and through them take over the culture? Do you teach and preach on the educational function and purpose of the family; teaching the children in the Lord? Do you teach them the purpose of the family as God’s institution for economic decisions and action? Do you teach them on the fathers as protectors and conquerors? Do you teach them on the function of the family as a welfare agency, the only institution ordained by God to take care of the poor and the needy?

In our conversation, it turned out he didn’t teach those things. He was a little uncomfortable to talk about the issue of having children given the fact that Europe was overpopulated anyway and given the lower incomes of most people, having many children would place a heavy burden on the young parents. Talking about having children, he said, was not a popular topic in Europe. The economic function of the family: he wasn’t sure about that one because he was never taught that in the seminary; and besides, it is part of the “general equity” stuff, not of the Gospel, and he wasn’t supposed to preach anything but the Gospel. Concerning the education, they had great public schools in Europe so that that burden could be taken off the backs of the parents so that they could focus on the spiritual things of the Gospel; besides, the only viable alternative was homeschooling, and he was concerned whether homeschooled children could later find jobs in the European economy. He couldn’t take on the responsibility of giving advice to parents which later may prove impractical. “Protectors and conquerors” wasn’t clear to him, after all we are not trying to impose a Christian dictatorship, we are only concerned about the salvation of these souls, and Europe had very low crime rate anyway. And welfare? Same thing: Europe has a wonderful social system, no need to worry about the poor, the government is doing a perfectly good job there." You can read the rest of the article here, "Relationship vs. Purpose,"

While we don't have a clear picture of what God is doing within the walls of our local body of believers, my husband and I do stand with our pastor as he takes his family to Texas. May he and his family be blessed as they make time for their "family" and may God bring new hands, eyes, ears, and fresh wisdom and BOLD TRUTHS to our little corner of Sebago Lake, Maine to revive the people and win over FAMILIES for Jesus.
We've got precious little time left here on earth, here, people. Who will stand up for families? Who will abandon the constraints of society and all its strongholds and breakthrough to what God desires for our country? We have an important vote coming up in November. A vote that is packaged as desirable and "good" for our society. It seems that inherent within all humans is a simple desire and devotion to be loved and be called into "family". But the enemy is clever, we do know this, but are swift to forget, we are, after all, only humans.  Temptation is defined as "the fact or state of being tempted,  especially to evil."
We are so beyond temptation now. This is 2012. Temptation has a new face, stemmed from our wonderful American "deeply felt national values of fairness, generosity, and tolerance". Temptation is now an art and science of taking and packaging all that is evil and making it look "good".

So what shall we do with a building the head pastor has left to pursue his own family? Revolt? Leave? Spread gossip from our own fears and worries? Of course not! We ask God to show us what's next! How, Father, can we play a part in pursuing Jesus and stronger relationships, build His Kingdom here on earth, finding PURPOSE and meaning and CONQUERING in what our pastor has decided to passionately pursue....FAMILY?!!!

We will miss you, Pastor Brian and the whole Galbraith Family!!!

God bless you all!

photo credit

Growing Great Kids By Kate Battistelli-My Review

When I first joined the CWA Review Crew, one of the first book titles that jumped out at me was this book by Kate Battistelli, called Growing Great Kids. The title indeed caught my eye at first, but it was the subtitle that made me sign up to review it, "Partnering with GOD to cultivate His purpose in your child's life". As a mother of six children ranging in age from 16 to 6 months I am always on the look out for great reads to help me be a better mom to my blessings! When the book finally arrived I was really excited to begin, until I shared it with a couple of friends. They were skeptical. "Growing Great Kids? How does this woman think she can write a book on growing great kids when she only had ONE daughter who just happens to be the one and only Dove Award-winning, Grammy-nominated recording artist, Francesca Battistelli?"

 Okay, those weren't their EXACT words but I knew what they were thinking. I was thinking it too...I've even been found saying this a time or two...
"Back when I only had ONE child I was certain that I was THE perfect parent! Thank the Lord my second son came along to put me in my place!"
Raising children is not easy, but raising only one child is A LOT easier. You have more time to devote to that one life. I have to share myself with seven other souls (including my husband). Well, if you are like me, thinking what does this Kate Battistelli have to teach me about growing great kids because she only had one child?, then you would be WRONG. I thoroughly enjoyed this book!

Kate Battistelli offers wonderful insight, humor, and inspiration to dream big dreams for each one of the children God has gifted us with. She explains, "Successful adults don't happen by accident. It takes wisdom to raise your children with a strong sense of their destiny in God and a deep knowledge of their gifts and callings".

 I really enjoyed how Kate wove stories of raising her daughter Francesca to become the amazing Christian singer she is today to share her points in growing great kids. She even shares some of the stories behind her daughter's songs that came from real life incidents where Francesca learned some life lessons. "Got a couple dents in my fender..." I was impressed how much Kate would press in and pray for specific things for her daughter, including for her daughter to win a Dove award and Grammy nominations. She covered her daughter in prayer! When Kate needs more support for her advice she relies heavily on quotes from friends who parented more than one child. This makes for a wonderful read as she reveals her own shortcomings and failures and becomes very vulnerable with the reader even as she encourages us to dig in deeper and do the hard task of raising up kids for God's kingdom. She quotes many scripture verses, but I loved this particularly, 1 Corinthians 15:58 "Therefore, my beloved brethren, be firm (steadfast), immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord [always being superior, excelling, doing more than enough in the service of the Lord], knowing and being continually aware that your labor in the Lord is not futile [it is never wasted or to no purpose]."

My favorite chapters were "Gifts and Callings", "The Power of a Parent's Words", "Prayer, the Essential Ingredient", and "Common Parenting Traps". If you are looking for a wonderful parenting book to inspire you to be a better parent in order to grow great kids you need to own this book! Kate has written prayers at the end of each chapter to pray for our kids. They are, in my opinion, worth every penny of this book. She has inspired me to get a notebook and to begin praying BIG dreams for my own children, to be diligent in prayer, purposeful, specific, relentless, ever pursuing God's calling, seeking after God with all my heart for my kids! You can purchase your own copy over at Amazon or Barnes and Noble ISBN: 967-1-61638-654-2 | List Price: $14.99 | Format: Softcover | Page Count: 238

Here is Kate's interview talking about her book.

 Disclosure:  I received a free copy of this book/Ebook/Product to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.

TITL Apparel, Christian Boutique-My Review!

I recently had the pleasure of reviewing a fabulous company called TITL! TITL apparel exists to bring honor and glory to God and our savior Jesus Christ. TITL stands for Trust in The Lord and is more than a company to its founder, Stephanie Osborn, it is her ministry. She followed God's leading to recognize that there was a market for Christian apparel that had the high quality, feel and look of a designer, that also provides a platform for ministry. TITL, Christian Apparel was born!

For my review, I first had to head over to their website, TITL Apparel. I found the website to be quite easy to navigate. I found you can browse their products by scrolling over the word "Menu". Here the website has the products categorized by men's and women's clothing, jewelry, and even women's handbags! I was asked to choose either a shirt or a necklace and so I found a necklace I fell in love with, the Sterling Silver Christian Cross.

When my package arrived I could tell quite a bit of care and devotion was put into this necklace for delivery. It came wrapped in lovely purple tissue paper inside a special little bag made of shimmering tulle with drawstrings. A beautiful handwritten card from Stephanie really made me feel special and I knew instantly that this piece of jewelry was precious to her as well!

The TITL website describes this necklace as "Sterling Silver Christian Cross adorned with Amazonite and Sterling Silver Beads. Sterling Silver Long and Short Chain. Sterling Silver Toggle closure. 32”. Assembled with love in Nevada. Style 01-007." When my necklace arrived I could tell how this was "assembled with love." There are so many special details in this necklace! I love the sterling silver toggle closure with it's mini TITL tag.

Here is a picture up close.

The Amazonite stones are just gorgeous! I also love toggle closures. Once you know how to use them they are so simple and when I wore this I never had any fear that the necklace would come unclasped. Because of the size of the clasp I found it fairly easy to find when readjusting the necklace, although it never bothered me and I never felt it was there.

The sterling silver cross is beautiful. I found it to be a bit larger than I was expecting but as I wore the cross I loved to grasp it and hang onto it and let my fingers run over the intricate silver design, remembering how much it cost God to send His Son to die on the cross. I really treasure this piece! Here it is close up!

In my card, Stephanie described this necklace as having an asymmetrical line. I was a bit unsure about this design as I generally like my jewelry to be symmetrical! 

Here it is on me, asymmetrical.

Another view!

I wore the necklace to church yesterday and got some wonderful compliments! The ladies that complimented me wanted to touch the beautiful Amazonite stones and one wanted to see the clasp and how it worked. 

Another photo with the cross in view.

As you can see this is not a simple necklace! It is more of a centerpiece! My daughters LOVED it too! They wanted to know where I got it from and if it was my birthday! They took turns wanting to wear this necklace until I told them it was not a toy but "very special" and I had to put it away! I shared this with Stephanie on her Facebook page and I loved her comment:  " It is so nice to hear the special effect of that necklace. Purity of children is amazing...purity attracts purity. Have a happy day." 

That is what I really love about this company! Stephanie's blog is such a source of encouragement that goes way beyond her products. Her products are her tools to spread the message of Christ! I never would have connected "purity" with my daughters fighting over a necklace! But she is right, the necklace is special and when we keep our hearts for God we are setting ourselves apart and keeping ourselves pure before Him. Special equals pure and God is so worthy of our efforts to learn more about these qualities and teach them to our children.

So I've gone way over my review of this necklace, but I was completely moved that this was way more than just a necklace! It is a truly special work of art, from the heart of Stephanie and her company!

When I learned how much this necklace cost I was not surprised. It is well worth the $164. Knowing that a significant portion of the proceeds goes toward "seeking and saving the lost" makes this so much more worthy of my money as there is added value to the purchase! 

In her own words, Stephanie shares on her BLOG, 

"Please know that product pricing for TITL Apparel is at or below secular retailers pricing for like or exact items.  I take great care and invest much time verifying TITL Apparel is a great value."

If you are looking for a special gift for a special someone, head on over to TITL Christian Apparel! You'll be glad you did!

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not to your own understanding"

Proverbs 3:5


 Disclosure: I received a free product to review. I was not required to write a positive review nor was I compensated in any other way. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC Regulations. I am part of The CWA Review Crew.