Game On-Seminary Review Game

I am finding that many games can be adapted for learning and review. This morning, we played Scripture Scatergories. Each team had 5 minutes to list as many names and titles of Jesus Christ. See HERE for details and more photos. It was effective and fun. This activity was also a testimony to me that the spirit directs me as I teach. As this game progressed, the spirit was present as the students discussed the names and titles they had written.

Valentine Goodies

Treats for my Seminary students...all 27 of them. See photos below for a close up view of the scripture message.

The timing was perfect...we were studying the book of John during Valentines week.

 Inside the bag? Caramel Corn, Brownies, and fruit snacks.

With Love From Grandma and Grandpa

As soon as February arrives, we anticipate the arrival of these...

My parents make these Valentine cookies and mail them to everyone in the family-even missionaries serving in Peru or Venezuela. The cookies come every year, made and packed with love. Valentines Day would not be the same without them.

Special Delivery

Katherine was on cloud 9 after this special delivery just for her.

 She will be 16 in 3 weeks. I feel old.

The Bakery Is Open

Megan made whole wheat bread for our Sacrament meeting today. She used this recipe. Megan is making the Sacrament bread for the next 5 weeks as a Young Women Personal Progress Value Project. This is one of the easiest recipes for whole wheat bread. I did not have to help her with too many steps in the process. She ground the wheat, made the dough, and baked the bread from start to finish. Soon she will only need me to supply the ingredients.

The bakery is open and the house smells divine.

Presidents' Day

Presidents' Day Translation.....No School or Seminary today or tomorrow.
I LOVE my students and I LOVE teaching Seminary but I dont mind a few days off.
Maybe my floors will get clean and a few of my paper piles will be smaller.
It is too cold to do our traditional Presidents' Day Beach Day so we are cleaning house. Seriously, we are using the heat today. We use the heat about 10 days per year in Florida and this is the first day this year.

Happy Presidents' Day

“Nearly all men can stand adversity, 

but if you want to test a man's character, 

give him power.” 
~Abraham Lincoln~

I am old enough to remember when we got out of school for Abraham Lincoln's Birthday-February 12 and for George Washington's Birthday-February 22. Two separate days rather than President's Day.

Abraham Lincoln is my favorite US President. His example of stellar character and doing what was right for the right reasons inspires me.

Happy Presidents' Day

Two Years Old

Happy Birthday, Desmond!

Our sweet Grandson is 2 years old today.

 It seems like last week I was in a tour bus 4-wheeling through a lettuce field in Belle Glade when Curt called to tell me they were on the way to the hospital.

 Now Des is 2 and is a big brother to baby Evie. 

 Des LOVES LOVES throwing, catching, and playing with any sports ball.

He has a natural throw that makes his Grandpa so proud.

Happy Birthday, Des. I love you!

Ron's Banana Bread

How I got this far without posting Ron's Banana Bread recipe is a mystery to me. This is his all time favorite and I generally post recipes like this so I can have a record of them on my blog. As I type, the house is filled with the aroma of baked Banana Bread. It is an early Valentine's Day goodie for Ron.

Image from Simplyrecipes.com

Ron's Banana Bread

1 C Granulated Sugar
1 Tbsp Butter
1 Egg
1/4 C Buttermilk or Sour Milk (Add a small amount of vinegar to regular milk to make it "sour")
1 tsp. Baking Soda (dissolve in sour milk)
3 Ripe Bananas-Mashed (the kind that are no longer good to eat-black spots and all)
2 C Flour (may need 1/2 c more if batter is too thin)
1 C Chopped Nuts
Optional....1 C. Chocolate Chips (Ron is NOT a chocolate lover so this is not a regular addition unless I make 2 loaves-one with and one without)

Beat sugar and butter until well blended. Add Egg  and milk- beat until fluffy.
Add Mashed bananas and mix well.
Add Flour, mix well then stir in nuts and chocolate chips.

Bake in a greased loaf pan for 60 minutes at 350 degrees. You can use a large loaf pan or 2 smaller loaf pans. If using the very small loaf pans, this makes 4 loaves and you only need to bake it for about 45 minutes.

Enjoy!

It's Love Bucket Time

This is one of my favorite Valentine activities

See Love Bucket details HERE

This is the weekend to prepare for Valentines Day.

Weekdays get too crazy and time is gone before I can think twice.

P.S. I miss my granite counter tops and kitchen island. 

That will change at this house eventually.

Palm Sunday

It was Palm Sunday today...

Oh, you say it is Tuesday?

Well in Seminary it was Palm Sunday...

Riley

On Christmas eve, our dog, Riley died. He was hit by a car and did not make it. I am thankful that he did not have to suffer in pain and he went quickly. Life was a little crazy at Christmas with a full house and a lot going on. It wasn't until everyone left and I started coming home to an empty house thatI really realized he was gone. I miss that d*%# dog. He had a good life and was such a great protector of us and our home.

 Above is a photo of AJ and Riley. I pick AJ up at school every day on my way to pick up Megan. Riley loved the school pick up routine over the past few years. All I had to do was say, "school" or "let' pick up the girls" and he was so excited he could not be calmed. He would run in circles and go full speed to the car when I opened the door. He LOVED car rides. It was hard to get a good photo of him because he was always on the go.
Below is a photo of him as my navigator. He was king of the passenger seat.

I think we are done with having animals and family pets. It is too painful to have them die. We have had 2 dogs die (3 if you count Bagel), a guinea pig, and 2 hamsters all die. No fun.

Dog heaven is a better place with Riley there.

We have the image of him playing with the children who died in the Sandy Hook school shootings. Those kids got a great dog for Christmas. I am sure he was happy to play with them and they were happy to have him join them in heaven.

Progress

At Christmas time, we were outside on the patio when we discovered that a few of our trees were dying and ready to fall at any time. Andrew removed a few of the large trunks so they would not fall on the little ones as they were playing.

 Andrew and Des...

Last Saturday, Ron and his brother, Alan, finished the job and removed all of the dead and/or dying parts of one of the trees. They worked all over the yard with the saw and cleared out several trees, bushes, and branches. Now we will decide what to plant, re-locate, etc. so we can get our yard shaped up while the weather is cool and beautiful for working outside. 

For sure we need to place something in the area where the dead trees were so our neighbors do not have a view of our kitchen.

Weekend Update

It seems  that I post on my Seminary At Six AM blog a little more often than here. 

Probably because that is where I spend most of my time and energy all week.

As a Seminary teacher, Friday takes on an entirely new meaning.

I look forward to not setting my alarm for 4:45 on Friday night.

I love my students (all 24 of them) and I love studying the New Testament.

I also LOVE my family and enjoyed a stop at our favorite

ice cream spot tonight...Sloan's at City Place.

Megan is wearing her new $7 Florida Gators hoodie. This is a happy time of year for the bargain hunter in me. Also note the sunglasses on her head. She has a new found love for wearing them 24/7. We have had to explain why she should not wear them at night or inside at any time of day. She is scheduled for a haircut next week. We'll see what she decided for the length. I am guessing just a few inches off the ends.