Archive for the ‘Photo / Video / Music’ Category

We love our Dole Whip! (See my previous post here)

Now John over at Magical Recipes just added my kids’ funny photos to his Dole Whip recipe page.

If you miss a yummy treat you had at Disney, stop by his page and see if he has a recipe for you to make it at home.

We’re going to try his take on the Dole Whip. Obviously.

[By Wolf]

Have you ever had that feeling of flavor filled nostalgia?

We recently took a trip to Disney World and had a wonderful time. During all of our planning we each thought about what things we really wanted to do that would make us feel satisfied after the vacation was over. One thing on the list was to go have pineapple Dole Whip at the Tiki Room.

Well, we did have some Dole Whip at the Magic Kingdom and to our extreme satisfaction, we were able to have it 3 times. We found that the Polynesian Resort had self serve Dole Whip at one of its eateries. There we created MOUNT DOLE WHIP.

Now it’s in our brain … and taste buds. We are looking for Mr. Dole Whip.

I tried a recipe tonight that left us wanting. It tasted more like pineapple ice cream. It wasn’t tangy enough and was too creamy and too sweet.

The recipe used:

1 quart of pineapple juice
3 cups of whipping cream
1 teaspoon of vanilla
3 cups of sugar
and top it off with milk

The family all agreed that it was really good pineapple ice cream, but not the elusive Dole Whip.

So, the search continues. Perhaps we need to start with a sherbet or sorbet recipe?

Advent begins on Sunday (December 2nd)!

As I’ve posted previously, last year I purchased the inexpensive eBook Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands after reading a friend’s recommendation on Facebook.

It’s set up to be a Christmas ornament each day, but we decided to modify things a little and make each project into one page of an Advent Book. I’ve had several people ask me about it, so I wanted to do this follow-up post and show you what I mean.

Shown are Day #2 – Kingdom (by Jewel), and Day #3 – Zacharias (by R.T., with writing by Mama).

I had some heavier-weight paper/cardstock that we had purchased to print greeting cards. It came in four colors, and the kids decided to do multi-colored books. I think having the heavier weight (rather than just paper) is a good call, since some of the projects do have a bit of mass to them. Color is entirely a matter of preference, of course.

A gracious friend gave us some “pocket” 3-ring binders, so that they could do a piece of artwork on plain paper and just slip it in. Obviously, the options for decorating your covers are endless.

We didn’t get all the way through with our Advent projects, and (as you can see) the covers need to be done as well. This year December will be VERY full, so I think finishing up the boos we started last year is a realistic plan.

This year, in addition to the eBook itself, you can purchase a set of printable ornaments from Truth in the Tinsel.

This would speed up the process, be more portable (to work on while travelling, etc.), and also help with the “flattening” if you want to do a book like we did.

However you choose to celebrate the season, I pray that you will remember to keep your focus on “the Reason for the season.”

And she insisted that this time (unlike last year), they keep and clean the fish.

We had to freeze them due to schedule complications, but I’m sure eating her own catch will be a delightful event!

We are so excited to be doing an Advent devotional this year! I’ve been trying to get my act together enough to do this for a couple of years now.

I was delighted to find a friend’s recommendation on Facebook, and I eagerly purchased (inexpensively!) Truth in the Tinsel: An Advent Experience for Little Hands.

The book has an easily broken-down shopping list of supplies – most of which are things you’re likely to have around the house anyway (or can substitute for such things).

Each day has a Scripture reading, tagged to a “clue” that the kids find in their Advent Calendar (several options for how to do that).

Then there’s a fun craft project for the kids to do, along with some other discussion ideas for you to use (or not, or as you see fit).

The projects are set up to be done as a series of Christmas Tree ornaments, but for a variety of reasons, we’ve decided not to go that route.

We’re going to “flatten” everything, and mount each artwork on a sheet of paper. Then each of the kids is going to assemble their 24 projects into an Advent Book (in a 3-ring binder, to give it some protection), which can be stored away in their memory box, or enjoyed again next year, or whatever other use we can think up!

The photo is the Littles at work on Day 1 – a candle, for Jesus, the Light of the World.

I’m not going to post our project each day, partially out of respect for the book’s copyright (go buy one, I tell you!). I’ll post perhaps weekly or so, with the highlights.

Who else is doing something special for Advent?

Very cute way to share a great message!

A young filmmaker made a movie based on just that question, and it’s called (surprise) Divided.

His question is why our Christian young people are leaving the church at an alarming rate. Why are the much touted – oh yeah, and expensive – “youth ministries” failing?

Through interviews with youth, with youth pastors, and other Christian scholars, he explores what’s going wrong, what the Bible has to say, and what we need to do.

This is something that we talk about often, and feel very strongly about. God calls Fathers to disciple their children, and calls believers (all of them) to gather together in worship.

Get a cup of tea, take an hour, and watch this important movie.

It’s available free online until September 15th – just click the graphic below. (The DVD is also for sale).

I’m once again going to sing the praises of Hillbilly Creations…

Although her Etsy store usually has a cute market tote or two, and sometimes other fun things, my favorite things are all “customs” she’s created just for me.

In my last “batch” of sending her goodies to upcycle, she made an adorable purse for Jewel. (You can read the full review, and see photos of the rest of the lovely thing she made – HERE).

This time around I had a new challenge for her. I sent her a pair of Nick’s old camo cargo pants, and requested something a la the Market Tote that took advantage of the pants’ “coolness” in a lunch tote for Nick.

Wow! It’s everything I hoped for, and more… Look at all the cool stuff:

Cargo pockets as exterior pockets.

Pants waistband as shoulder strap.

Ankle zipper as bag closure.

And lined with an old pillowcase, for full upcycle flair!

This is not a sponsored, or even requested, blog post. I’m simply sharing the wonderful work of Hillbilly Creations. Oh, and by the way, Mrs. Davis is also the SAHM of a family who lost their home in a tornado a couple of years ago. Nice Christian family that you’ll help support!

YES!!

You can also stop by his website – http://www.johnwallermusic.com/ – and sign the Joshua 24:15 Declaration.

Very cool.

Okay, let’s start off with the bad news.

We’re still struggling with the aphids.

Dish washing soap solution and DE seemed to get it all under control… Only to have them back in full force a few days later. Ack!

Strawberry plants are healthy and productive – but we’re not getting any.

I don’t know enough to know if it’s something wrong, or just our ant problem, or what. But they get gone before they get ripe.

And now, something seems to be digging… Especially in the onions. Bird? Beast?

Oddly, it doesn’t look like they actually took anything, so it seems pretty weird.

I didn’t need any help to have a miserable time with the lettuce.

The two on the right came up nicely, while the two on the left didn’t.

I replanted the left pair a couple of weeks down the road, and one has come up as a runty bit. The fourth remains.

Of the two that came up so prettily in the first wave, one has suddenly and mysteriously (at least to me) keeled over dead.

Hm.

Okay, enough of that. Let’s move right along to the good news, shall we?

The climbers on the back row are all doing quite well. (The replanted watermelon is a bit behind, but still perky).

Here, for example, is our lovely budding summer squash vine:

And, totally out of the blue, there are … BEANS!

Bush beans. Which were apparently sneaky enough to totally be missed on garden day Monday, although it’s true that the kids watered while I was transplanting some new friends.

Rather than waiting for something bad to happen, I do believe I’m going to pick them, steam them a little, then enjoy them for dinner with the kids…