October 19, 2012
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{a little random and the winner}
i found a piece of grape bubblicious gum on the floor upstairs..
the wrapper was a little stuck to it and took some doing to get off, but i did.
and have been happily smacking away ever since!i never tell my kids to chew their gum with their mouth closed, cause i’m just as guilty.
there’s really no way you can. well, bubble gum that is.
those tiny little trident sticks are a different story.
totally encourage mouth closed on those particular brands!!
and yes.. i’ve thought long and hard about all this.
made some pumpkin soup this morning and it’s making the house smell yummy.
i altered the recipe a bit. more cream, brown sugar, no curry, and a touch of cinnamon!i’m going to serve it up with some butter honey croissants. some of the kids favorites~ and easy!
all you do is buy a package of croissants from the bakery section. melt some butter in a bowl. mix a little honey…
spread the mixture over the tops and bake until browned.don’t bake too long though or the honey crystalizes!! not fun to clean up.
and.. it’s best to use parchment paper underneath. NOT wax paper..
as i thought would work since it looks just like parchment paper. it doesn’t.
it would be fun to cut out some small pumpkins and use those in place of bowls! pretty too.
i found this picture going through some old files.~
made me smile recalling the memories and i want to do this again soon..
i know reese would get a kick out of a face on her sandwich!
****just wanted to share something that encouraged my heart this week..
on monday night we heard some news that just kicked us both in the stomach.
it was huge. impactful. and i had a hard time standing back upright for a few days and catching my breath.
ever feel that way? the wind just completely knocked out of you?a few nights later we were reading in 1 samuel for family devotions…
the story of how the amalekites took the women and children while david and his men were gone.
and david’s men got so angry at him they wanted to kill him!and i thought i had problems. having people wanting to kill you is pretty serious stuff!
but then verse six, “but david strengthened himself in the Lord.”and those words have been on the front of my mind ever since.
david could have sat around wishing his circumstances were different.
why did his life have to be this way? why couldn’t anything just be normal?
why were those he counted as friends turning on him? who could he trust?instead. he took his need and went one place!
such a good reminder to me that there is no strength – that sustains – outside of the Lord!
when life leaves me hunched over and unable to breathe..
HE is the source of oxygen my soul must attach to. my lifeline to keep going. to not give up. give in.when i am weary. there is power available to stand upright again!
“strengthen yourself in the Lord”
****
what a fun fuN last post!!
thanks to all who entered and voted and commented.
i think i enjoyed your commentaries on the outfits even more than the contest itself.and now. on to the winner!
some of you were a little indecisive. so, since i’m nice that way, i let all your votes count.
i went through FOUR times to make sure i had counted correctly.
using my highly professional counting system…
which involves writing down 1-28, then marking by each number that gets a vote!
so – here are the results.there aren’t any prizes for other placements, but i thought i’d mention it anyway.
like the county fair!! and we’ll go backward like they do too.okay..
honorable mentions in 4th place were 14 & 28.
3rd place – 1 & 23
2nd place – 3 & 20
and drum roll please…
1st place and winner of the blue ribbon and title of miss dress up 2012 goes to~
27!!!!!
submitted by: eli mcbride {woo hoo eli!!}
****
and speaking of fashion, reese was playing in the laundry baskets yesterday and came out
wearing this!
it will be a great picture to show her future husband..
and hopefully by then she’ll have that thing figured out! wishing you all have a wonderful weekend.
it’s crisp and cool here, but the sun is shining.
perfect fall!
and just some great links from the week -
why we public school {love the post and comments. balance on both sides}
home, purposefully {this could be our story. except we’re not “this close” yet. but feel hope}·´¸.·¨) ¸.·¨)
(¸.·´ (¸.·´ (¸.·¨¯`♥ amber
Comments (24)
Loved your thoughts and call to “Strengthen….in the Lord!” SO TRUE!! Bless you dear.
I didn’t take the time for the contest, but loved looking at these!! Such pretty outfits and fashion!! Happy for the winner!
Reese girly, how hilarious!! She’s such a picture of innocence and beauty!! Happy weekend!
okay, lots of exclamation marks in my comment, I guess I’ll leave them there!! =)!!
OK, this post has it all. Homey cooking, fun fashion winners, deep inspiring thoughts (that I needed to Strengthen myself in the Lord!!), and lol cuteness. Have a good weekend!
Congratulations to the winner!! Thanks Amber for heading it up, it was great fun. Love Reece’s outfit
Hey! Good job Eli!! This was a lot of fun Amber, thanks for putting it together
I have to know, was #20 Elizabeth’s outfit? Did I guess right? It was fun to see my outfit in 3rd place too (plus Liz voted for it which is kind of like winning a major award)!
The soup sounds delicious Amber! Reese has real fashion sense
I was gonna come back to see if I could choose a favorite, but i just never got around to it! congratulations to the winner!
reese with her fashion accessories= hilarious!
“strengthen yourself in the Lord.” need that reminder!
Yay, Eli! And the other beautiful honorable mentions! Such great outfits!!
Haha to Reese… It fits her quite well as a backpack!
And cute underclothing you’ve got there! 
And how David strengthened himself in the Lord… so so good. So very powerful. Thanks for sharing!
Hee-hee, Reese’s “backpack” as Clarita says. She can fit all sorts of fun things in there! : )
Your words: “there is no strength – that sustains – outside of the Lord!” Yes, and thank you. It’s interesting to think that we are all battling different things but God gives us each this immeasurable grace and power. I am in awe of His beautiful love.
Oh, and there is this little thing of I WON!! And I’m so super excited that I squealed! : ) Thanks for reals.
Yay for Eli!!! Congratulations. =)
Reese is so funny, so adorable…can’t believe how big she’s getting.
I love all things pumpkin (except pumpkin ravioli..yuck) yet I have never tried pumpkin soup. I keep seeing people make it and rave about how wonderful it tastes.
The picture you have posted is making me want to try it. =)
The sandwiches are adorable..I may have to try that around here.
Happy Weekend to you!
xoxoxo
@inanorchard - April! You are silly! You are always so fashion-able…you’re probably whipping out the sewing machine and making that dress right now. and I DID vote for your outfit? How fun, good job.
I wish I could wear it for real. Don’t you wish you could have the clothes after you create the outfit?!? The jacket I chose costs almost $1000.00. Yikes. I think my outfit totaled over 20k!!! (it’s because of the jewelry) I do own those brown ballet flats though…very, very comfy. Is it ridiculous I found and then put my own shoes in the picture?! Haha!
@clearlyhis - you can NEVER!!!!! use too many exclamation points!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
@inanorchard - haha!! you were right. 20 was liz. funny you both voted for each other! tells me you’re on the SAME fashion wavelength. though as liz said, you DO have the slight edge on us all because you could actually make half of those outfits yourself! while the rest of us pine away and dream of how to rob a bank to pay for that 20k outfit.
20k?? seriously, liz.
)
@lifeisadance - well she does love putting on emma’s backpack when she gets home from shcool.. that’s probably what she was thinking when she put it on. like, “oh.. here’s a way i can carry my stuff around!” haha~
@onehappymomma - so.. with the grey sandals will come a gift card!!
)
@Elizabethmarie_1 - ew. pumpkin ravioli just doesnt’ sound good at all. i was surprised how good the soup turned out. though i think it kinda needed something more.. not sure what. but something. but it was a nice comfort kinda tasting food~ great for those chilly fall nights!
and cool you found your own shoes and used them in the outfit. i like how you can see where you can buy stuff. but yeah… as i said to april, we’ll have to be robbing a bank to afford your outfit!!
)
Oh, this is so good, all the way around. ANd on a serious note, if we all had those moments where we’ve felt kicked in the stomach and left breathless, we’d all feel pretty dang close to Jesus, needing the strength only He can give. The shock that painful news leaves isn’t fun. It hurts. It interrupts our day, our night, our week…. But nothing can separate us from God’s love or his protective hands. One more thing, I love Reese’s style and possibly wanting to look like mommy? ( 8
L.O.L. to Reese. Too funny!!
Congrats to Eli!
We make a pumpkin soup and it doesn’t sound as sweet tasting as yours but it’s really good. Actually haven’t had it in ages-well at least since last fall which seems like long ago 
your dinner sounds so yummy! Wish I could have stopped by for some
Reese is so funny and cute! Actually when she’s a bit older, knowing most kids, she’ll wonder what she was thinking and the picture might go missing
The best part of this post is the bubblegum you found on the floor. And David’s example of Who to go to for strength.
Congrats to the winner(s) of your fashion contest! My kids and Dan hated my only attempt at pumpkin soup. They tried to be polite, but nobody liked it, I could tell. I probably won’t try it again.
Thanks for the reminder about finding our strength in the Lord. We’re just back from a week of vacation/rest, and life seems about to crash down over us like a huge wave. Praying for strength for me, and you.
congratulations to eli! yay! how fun that someone i know won this contest. makes me smile.
but i gotta tell you amber. i cannot believe that i missed out on this whole thing. procrastination bit me as far as participating, sigh. and then whatintheworld? i missed out on voting and all that fun too? ack. sigh again. it was such a COOL idea. and funny how april and liz voted for each other! funFUN even though i’m showing up UNfashionably late. :/
i am so sorry for the stomach kicking news. but i am loving what HE gave to you through david. (and to me through you through david through HIM. whew.) i forgot about that story…and i remember hearing it not that long ago and writing furiously taking notes. now i want to find them!
he went from The Darkest Days Ever… to Triumph shortly thereafter. like my friend Christy says often, Papa sees. Papa knows. Papa cares. hugs to you sweet friend.
Love the sandwiches!!! Too cute! And your little girl is just adorable!!! How fun!
I haven’t been around zanga for so long and had a few minutes this evening and look what I found! This looks like fun! A great site to “shop” when you don’t have the $, but want to scratch the itch.
Don’t know which number I would have voted for….they all look like a lot of fun!
Hope you’re doing well! It’s always fun to hear from you!
Yay to the winner! And quite fun to see my 2 get honorable mention and 3rd place.
Love the thought of strengthening ourselves in the Lord! Nowhere else to find lasting strength. Good reminder for me.
enjoyed the post ~ and the sandwiches ~