Head Chef and Pastry Chef

While I don't have a picture of our Stone Soup day, I do have another to share.

Josiah selected a Fried Rice recipe off of the PBS Kids website a few weeks ago and was very excited to be the Chef of the evening. He gave a pretty squeamish face at the store when he saw what raw shrimp looked like, remarking, "That's not going is my recipe, is it?!" Afterwards he decided they tasted great and wanted to see pictures of what they looked like when they could still swim.

His cooking style has been inspired by the film "Ratatouille." This means very fast chopping with a sharp knife and sweeping everything off the cutting board with great flourish. I don't stray from his side and I watch out for my own fingers while we are creating.


This particular evening Ben was the pastry chef making Strawberry Shortcake for everyone. He arranges his desserts artfully and uses a heavy dose of whipped topping- yum!

I have really appreciated their new interest in helping in the kitchen since Gabriella was born. It has given us some great opportunities for one-on-one, and inspired us all to try new dishes. Bon Appetit!

SiSi's Stone Soup

What a wonderful Prarie Flower inspired Thursday we had last week!

On Wednesday, Josiah wanted to make Stone Soup for a meal at home. We waited until Thursday morning, giving me time to purchase the barley and bullion Wednesday evening.  We started chopping and cooking in the morning and the soup was ready in time for us to share a bowl with Grandparents T for lunch. He was so excited to share what he had made with them. He gave Grandma the stone in her bowl -- a special honor which she appreciated. The soup was so delicious that we had a second helping!

Later in the afternoon we made the "Bake with Me" bread from the preschool cookbook to have with our dinner.  Josiah and his Grandpa T had great fun rolling out special stones, seashells, snakes and family members' initials. Again, the bread was delicious and Josiah was proud to share what he had made.

On Thursday evening Josiah asked if we could plant some carrots at our house this summer, "Big ones like we give the horses, only we can eat them!"

We are so thankful for his teachers, and for the focus on teaching the children the joy of working together, the service of doing for others, and an appreciation for healthy foods.  What a blessing!

(LT)

All dressed up with no place to go

This Sunday, Kevin was serving up at church and had left early in the morning. I was feeling very accomplished as I had the kids dressed, fed, and ready to go on time for second service. As we were heading out the door, I discovered my keys were missing. After searching through bags and coats, I realized I had locked my keys in the van the night before. Such a disappointment! Gabriella was wide awake and happy, so I took some pictures of her in her darling dress before tuning into the service on-line from home. I was happy to have caught her smile and bright eyes.

She speaks (in a manner of speaking)

Click the picture to download 4MB .mp4 video (requires Quicktime player) to listen to Gabriella's late evening babble.

She's six weeks old (already?!)

Gabriella at six weeks (and a few days), smiling at mommy.
Thanks for this bundle of sweetness and Joy, Heavenly Father. Amen!

 

From the Picasa web album: Gabriella at six weeks