Thanks to Dionna for sharing this Fox News Story.

“I think it’s my faith that keeps me grounded, especially because I’m a Christ follower for sure,” Cyrus told us. “Live like Christ and he’ll live in you, and that’s what I want to do.”

- Miley Cyrus to Holly McKay of Fox News

Donning a red tutu Charleigh (who was kept home from school thanks to a fever) reclines amid a sorority of Polly Pockets who reside in a house made from her daddy’s shoe box. She listens to the long awaited Corinna Smith CD as her doting little brother meticulously applies a thin mulberry coat of paint to each of her tiny toe nails.

Dumas Residents : Have you been hearing about the upcoming vote on the pool bond issue?
Here’s a little bit of info I got from the City Website that you may be interested in:

The Current Pool
* Pool is now 55 years old.
* Pool Does Not Conform To ADA Guidelines
* Wading Pool Is Filled In
* Depths Range From 3 ft. To 10 ft. Not Safe for Small Children.
* No Interactive Play Structures
* No Shade Structures
* Pool Heating System Does Not Function
* Structure Overall Is In Need Of Repair Or Replacement
* Would Cost An Estimated $1.5 Million To Upgrade
* Leak Under Pool Loses 4000 Gallons Of Water Daily

A $3,000,000 bond issue vote will be held on Saturday, May 10, 2008.
This could cost someone who owns a $100,000 home an additional $50 a year in property tax.

The proposed plan for the pool can be found here

We’ve never actually been to the Dumas pool. Honestly it just looks t0o yucky to even think about putting your kids in it. Like many others we drive to Sunray, TX for our summer swimming. Even after we got our own pool we still ventured over there a few times last year. I would love to see this pass.

Not being a resident of Dumas, I’m thinking they won’t let me vote. But hey I can still share my opinion right?

I thought it would be good to share a few of last years left-overs. Remember when we made these cute nests for Easter? The kids loved them. I’m going to try a dairy-free version but until then here’s the old recipe. Which, by the way, was link to by the Food Network website. Fun huh?

Bird Nests

4 cups Crunchy Chow Mein Noodles
1/4 cup Butter
2 cups mini marshmallows
1 pkg Mini Robin Egg candy
Package of Peeps
Cooking Spray

Use a 6 or 12 cup muffin tin depending on desired size of
nests.  We made only 6 nest with this recipe so we could overlap the top
and give an "edge" for our bird to sit on.

1.  Heat butter and marshmallows over medium heat

2.  Stir till melted

3. 
Add noodles and stir till completely coated

4.  Spray muffin tin then
hands with cooking spray.

5.  Place mixture into muffin cups and
shape with hands to form "nests".

6.  Refrigerate approximately 30
minutes later, gently remove nests from muffin tin and perch a Peep on the side. 
It helps if the nest is still a bit sticky, this will "glue" the peep on.

7.  Place nests on a tray and put back
in the fridge till completely set.

8. Fill with candy eggs.

 You could serve these right away or
wrap them in a pretty cellophane bag and give them as a gift. 

Actual work time: 6-8 minutes

Total time:  45minutes

These
nests are a great project for kids!  There are many various recipes
including chocolate and peanut butter but this is the one Joshua thinks looks
the most realistic.  It also happens to be the easiest and least time
consuming which makes mommy pretty happy too. 

I’ve heard Marla talk about the Myers-Briggs Personality Test for a few years now. I’ve finally gotten around to taking a test. Here are my results:

Here’s an explanation of what an “ENFP” is.

Interesting. I wonder what Amy is. . .

What’s for Dinner?
Last Friday we had this fabulous comfort food for dinner. The kids loved LOVED it! Minus Joshua of course who is scared of green foods. He asked if next time we make it we could leave out the veggies and only put in mushrooms. Which might actually be pretty good. . .except Kaleb is scared of mushrooms. But I digress; this recipe worked superbly! The filling set up fabulously and the flavor was great. Kaleb and Charleigh went back for seconds and thirds and even the critic, Joshua, ate all his. You’ve got to try it.

In an effort to trick the 5yr old into eating his veggies I let him use a star cookie cutter to dress up the crust. I also gave him a fork and let him pinch the edges together. We called it “Rock Star Chicken Pie”.

Dairy Free Chicken Pot Pie

1 package (10 oz) frozen mixed veggies
1/3 cup olive oil
1 cup fresh spinach thinly sliced
2 garlic finely minced
1/3 cup chopped onion
½ cup flour
1 can chicken broth
2/3 cup soy milk
1/4 tsp Ground Pepper
½ tsp Salt
2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
3 cups diced cooked Chicken
Prepared Pastry for 9-inch two crust pie

Heat oven to 425
Thaw veggies and drain.
In a heavy bottomed sauce pan bring olive oil to medium heat then, sauté onion, garlic and spinach till tender.
Whisk in flour and cook for 1 minute.
Slowly pour in chicken broth and soy milk whisking the whole time.
Bring to boil. (continue whisking)
Cook for 2 minutes or until thick (still whisking)
Mix in veggies and chicken; remove from heat.

Roll 2/3 pastry into 13 inch square.
Gently press into ungreased 9×9x2 inch square pan.
Fill pastry-lined pan with chicken mixture
Roll out remaining pastry into 11 inch square.
Cut out a few designs with a mini cookie cutter.
Arrange the cut outs on top of pastry.
Top chicken mixture with pastry and flute edges.

Optional: brush with an egg wash for a shiny golden finish

Bake 35 minutes or until golden brown

The last piece standing. Joshua might have been right, I may have put to many veggies in. They are colorful though.

Personalize It
You can leave the spinach out if you choose. Lately I’ve been adding it in to almost everything. Once sautéed with garlic and onions it can easily be sneaked into almost any dish with out a single kid noticing.

Choose your family’s favorite veggies. We had a mixture of carrots, peas, corn and green beans

No time to make a crust?
A pre-made Pillsbury crust straight from the store works great. Simply line the square pan and cut off the over hang. Use the extra dough to fill in most the gaps in the corners. Before filling the pan with the chicken lay the second piece of pastry over the top and trim off some of that excess. Remove the top and use those trimmings to finish covering the sides of the pan. Fill the pan with the mixture then cover again and flute the edges.

If you’re making this recipe because of milk allergies or sensitivities make sure to double check the ingredients of the store-bought crust for allergens.

UN-adapt it?
If you’re not dairy conscious simply replace the soy milk with regular cow’s milk. If you’re not cholesterol consciouses I guess you could replace the olive oil for butter. Though you really shouldn’t. . .

Dairy Free, Milk Alergy, Recipes

These are the gifts my kitchen dreams of. . .
(Please Read on …)

Originally posted March 1, 2005

Looking into the eyes of my newborn baby, my heart leaped with joy. So precious. So small.

You know; when they are so cute you just want to cover them with a thousand kisses. Ooooh they are so cute! You can’t help but squeeze them and shower them with love.

You here a faint cry from the other room, you rush in and pick up your prize, your joy. As you pull the child close to your heart, the crying stops. Only you can calm this child so quickly so completely. In the embrace of your love there is safety and comfort.

As you cherish each smile, each blink, the love overflows you are enraptured and you begin to sing a sweet love song to your child. Though you’d never sing in front of anyone before you find yourself doing so now. How precious this child is to you, how very very precious.

This is how the Father delights in his children:

The LORD your God is with you,
he is mighty to save.
He will take great delight in you,
he will quiet you with his love,
he will rejoice over you with singing.”
Zephania 3:17