Stephanie

No kitty cats here, but I bet that C4C will be very glad to see these recipes!

Wow!!! That is such a great youtube series, Thanks!!!

Thanks for the background info Cat, and I totally agree about no one man having all the answers. Looking forward to the study!

You go girl!!! Just think how good that will be with breakfast this morning! Yum!

(((Rez))) Sorry you got the bejeebers scared out of you. And sure am glad you're alright.

I appreciate you doing this and sharing it with us all so much! I'll be having my three 'middle' children (2nd and 3rd grade) read this over the weekend, sounds so good!

Cute! Aslan is growing like a weed, every morning that I wake up, he's bigger than the night before!

My youngest (4) said, "Look! Aslan!"

I'm here and paying attention. I have my copy of the book and have been reading in different parts, here and there. Very interesting so far and as a matter of fact I was surprised to see that he did not follow the popular belief that the antichrist would be a Jew.

This week the kids and I did an experiment with Peanut Butter Powder. Some months ago, I had purchased this... http://beprepared.com/product.asp_Q_pn_E_FS D140_A_name_E_Peanut+Butter+Powder I decided it was time to open it and see how we liked, what it tasted like, what in the world you did with it! The instructions on the #10 can say: Mix 1 TBSP of Powder with 1 Tsp of water. Add a small amount of sugar for flavor. Add a drop of oil for creaminess. First, we all tasted the powder plain, just to see (we are home educaters after all). Then we added the water, determined that wasn't even enough to get it moist and added a tiny bit more. We tasted again. The first two tastings, one while dry and one with just water, drew some interesting comments. One child said, it taste like coffee. Another said it tasted like the flavor on Honey Smacks (minus the sweetness). I personally thought it tasted like roasted unsalted peanut skins (not the nuts, just the skins). But, everyone agreed on one thing, this does not taste like peanut butter. So, we added a little sugar, more tasting. The sugar seemed to help a lot as far as tasting okay, but still, not a peanut buttery taste. Next we added a "drop* of oil to each persons own expermental bowl. This did wonders for the consistency. Now atleast it looked like peanut butter! The last part of our experimental tasting that day was to pull out a sleeve of saltines. Finally, success. The children all agreed that our concoction tasted just like the peanut butter that is in the crackers that you buy in individual packs. Everyone ate all of theirs and more. I cant' imagine at this point that I would be able to eat this in exactly the same way that we do peanut butter from the jar, but I can see some uses for it in our preps. Unopened that can is shelf stable for many years. It can be edible, if not tasty, with nothing but water added. The kids want us to try again with different types of sweeteners. I think they're on to something. I was using white table sugar. I think that next time we'll try brown sugar, powdered sugar and/or honey. It was hard to lose the graininess of the sugar and I think these others will dissolve better. We also want to make some of the recipes that we found at the Emergency Essentials site. http://beprepared.com/recipes.asp?ai=149 I think we'll start with the one for Peanut Butter Cookies, although I don't have Shortening Powder. I also want to try our family favorite, Peanut Butter Fudge Frosting. I definitely need to keep trying because now I have an opened #10 can and it's shelf life will now be considerably shortened. I am considering one other thing for the future. For one thing, perhaps not all Peanut Butter Powders are the same. I think I'll order some of this PB2 that I've heard so much of. http://www.bellplantation.com/ Any of you who have had experience with the Peanut Butter Powders, I'd appreciate any feed back. In the mean time, we shall continue to experiment, learn and adjust.

You, like your mother before you, are a blessing! I appreciate you!

Vic, I hope you get to feeling better soon! Poor pooch! That chirrup was just un-nerving!

Thanks Westie, I've never tried this before. I hope you'll do more Pantry Diving, I bet you've got some interesting things in there that would help my creativity.

Wonderful Recipes!! Thanks Westie! How did you know I needed these!

Aslan has arrived! After what seemed like an eternity of waiting, Aslan has been safely delivered to our family! It was love at first sight of course, but the last couple of days have been filled with wonderful puppy love! He is a puppy with purpose! Yesterday we signed him up for the Puppy Training Classes at the pet store. They start the week that he turns 10 weeks. So, we've got about 3 more weeks to do the best we can with his very determined little self. His markings are gorgeous, white toes and a velvet black muzzle. There is a beautiful white blaze across his chest and his eyes are full of intelligence. I know that we have chosen his name correctly, as he does have a Heart of a Lion - Aslan!

Vic, I'm so glad you are healing up so well! And you have inspired me to make some bread!

The one good thing about Monday's - new plans ( I like a plan).! Hopefully today is the day we do the tilling! and planting!

awww, Sere, I'm so sorry it didn't work out. But, you're right, 'possibilities' are fun too.

See, it wasn't that hard after all was it? You did it!

Everywhere I look blooms are bursting forth! Our gorgeous ornamental Pear Trees are solid white with tiny beautiful flowers. The peach trees are covered in delicate pink adornments. The plum trees are starting to display a little color as well. Seasons are a lovely gift that the Lord has bestowed upon us. Each has it's on purpose and is necessary. The important thing to remember about seasons is that they change. It's not going to stay as rainy or cold or hot or dry or humid as it is right now. A new season will arrive and it will be celebrated for its unique qualities. Tomorrow is the first day of Spring and today is sunny and warm! I will gather my small army of children around me and we will commence with the spring cleaning!! This will be an on going project for the weekend. My husband is off Monday and we will hopefully get the garden started as well. He bought his tiller last weekend and eager to 'turn some dirt'. Sweeping and dusting and organizing and cleaning out and getting things in order just feels great doesn't it!! We're going to cook out hamburgers and clean out the garage. We're going to attend church and Praise the Lord for the gift of seasons. Ecc 3:1 To every [thing there is] a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven:

Congratulations !! I'm sure you are going to do great!

Congrats on the successful 'mini speech' ! Good job and Good Blog Entry too!

What a wonderful picture diary! It is so cool to get a glimpse of each others lives. The raised beds are fantastic! I can't wait to see them later when they are fully of plants.