Farmers Market

In honor of Saturday, aka Farmers Market day here in Wilmington. I thought I would post about a recent Farmers Market Trip.

Since moving back to North Carolina, I have really developed a love for Farmers Markets. I enjoyed them while in Va Beach, however, the veggies here are way more inviting. They just seem larger, more fresh, and less bruised. I am sure being in much closer proximity to more farms may have something to do with that. 

Well, honestly, I have no clue. LOL

Take a look that this enormous, juicy, tomato.

My kiddos were even intrigued! 

I have a recipe post from our trip, Coming Soon!

Happy Saturday. :-)

First Day of School??? OOPPS!!!

So, as I checked my facebook it was flooded with pictures and posts of my homeschooling friends sharing their successes of their first day of homeschooling.... OOPPSS! 

Tuesdays are extremely busy for the Thornton Gang here... Our Tuesdays are filled with Prayers meetings for our One In Christ ministries beginning at 8am until 2pm. We try to make a point to take our girls so they soak up all this intercession as this young age... I love exposing them to those with zealous prayers! 

So with that said, homeschooling wasn't on the brain when I got up this morning... 

Can I just be honest for a moment? Some days I feel like I like the IDEA of homeschooling versus actually homeschooling... 

I know. Lame. But it's hard work, preparation included.

As I pondered how I was not schooling my girls all day today one little phrase that I had recently heard rang through my ears.

"KEEP IT SIMPLE!"

I had recently ran into an Educator who was giving me some pointers on homeschooling Pre-K and K.  Her advice and the phrase ringing through my ears...

KEEP IT SIMPLE! She said that this age is great! It's best to keep it simple for them... 

This helped to calm my anxieties a bit. 

So we all napped till 5pm today and I quickly made dinners and Hubby gave the girls baths. 

As Jordan urged me to do crafts, this mom acted on her initiative and we began a SIMPLE evening of school. :-)

 Then Sweet Cheeks came and joined us for some fun!

Jordan picked out each one that she liked and pasted it on this sheet. As she picked each item she told me what each one meant too her. The wagon she said, "I love the wagon because my Grandma use to pull me in it and take me too the park." Good Memories... Possibly my favorite is the baseball. She said, "Mommy I LIKE Baseball." I honestly insisted she didn't and well she insisted she did. I asked her, "have you ever played baseball?" She shouted, 'Oh YES Momma I have!!" I said, "When?" She exclaimed, "In my dreams at night!!!" Well I guess that is just as good baby! So as you see it made the sheet! LOL

 

 Here is my Sunshine with her First Day of School project (in her pajamas!)...

You all would be proud, because I did take it a step further and did the first lesson of "Teach Your Child to Read in 100 Easy Lessons."

I've heard numerous things about this and I have to say, I am well pleased! It's approach is fantastic and seems pretty fool-proof for this Momma! It also incorporates writing your letters, which is something she needs to work on. So perfect!

 

 

So after all this wasn't a failed school day! Whew! (as I wipe my brow). I think I can... wait... I know WE can! God has called me to do this! So it shall be!! With His help! In Jesus Name!

Happy First Day of School Everybody!

A little announcement....

I can't believe I am typing this....

But I am... 

I am grateful... Oh so grateful...

Shocked? Absolutely!

But see, I trust God can see a way Bigger Plan than I could ever see.... 

So here it is folks.... 

 

Do you  need a closer look??

  

Yes, that's a positive... a little faint because of lighting and it's a dollar tree test! LOL But it was certainly there!!

Since I had taken the test after Mike went to bed, I decided Scripture to greet him the next morning with his coffee would be a great way to let him in on my little secret.

 Here in the bottom note card you can see I am letting him in on another secret. See a few weeks before I took the test, a lady at one of our weekly Love Feast prayer meetings Prophesied over me, saying... "The Fruit of Your Womb is Blessed." I was kinda hoping she meant the children in the flesh already. But it's just proof and reassurance too me that God's got this! WE CAN TRUST HIM and HIS Perfect Plan!!

This is the little note I left for Mike.... 

It stated "Enjoy your Coffee as you Ponder the Goodness of our Lord!" 

 

 

SO yes! Here we go again! Baby Number four is on it's way (scheduled to arrive late April)... Shocked? Yes, we are too, but so thankful for the gift of Life! 

God is soooooo GOOOD! 

And we are excited to be growing our family once again!! 

 

Homemade Baked Fries

We all like fries. 

Okay, we all LOVE fries! But do Fries always have to be FRIED?

Not in this house. :-)

For 8 months I have steered clear of those artery clogging boogers, and this little recipe has made it much easier. 

 

This recipe was inspired by Rachel Ray years ago.

She actually inspired me to cook. :-) She made it seem easy, and I wanted easy, and I wanted to feel like a wife.

Bless my husbands soul for eating many meals, that I am sure were not edible! 

I am almost positive he wanted to cancel my Magazine Subscription to Everyday, with Rachel Ray.

So like I said, I saw Rachel cook this on her talk show years ago. It was so easy I remembered it and never forgot it. :-) I will say how I do it is not exact to hers, which is why I am not adding a link to a recipe for this.

First start with your favorite potatoes, sweet (If using sweet potatoes you will need different seasonings), russet, or whatever you got in your pantry. :-)

Now get creative and cut those babies. Be sure to use the Biggest Baddest Knife in your kitchen, because you need a strong, sharp, cutlery to handle this heavy duty job. 

I prefer to cut mine long ways so they some what resemble potato wedges.

Get a nice large cookie sheet (because the flatter they are, the crisper they get), Put aluminum foil down, you'll thank yourself later, and bath that baby in cooking spray. Leave no space uncovered.

Here are some of my favorite seasonings to use. But by all means, add to your hearts desire. Just make sure their edible. (shhhh... I know from experience)

*ahhhh heemmm, I prefer Onion Powder, Garlic Powder, Seasoned Salt, and and pepper. You can use regular salt, but Seasoned Salt just does something to it. Something good. 

Your family will thank you. :-)

After seasoning your cut fries, sprinkle Olive Oil on top and get your hands dirty.

Make sure every potato is dressed and seasoned, by mixing the potato's with your hands. :-)

Pop them in your 425 preheated oven for 30-35 minutes, or until they are crispy to your liking.

Depending on the size of you wedges, they may need to cook a little longer to get crispier. 

Yum.

Sprinkle out of the oven with a little Kosher Salt, and try not to eat them all before serving them to your family.

~This, my friend, is Worthy of your Kitchen. 

Happy 4th Birthday "Sissy"!!!

Better late than never, right? Yes, that is the anthem of my life during these baby days.

I wanted to share some exciting fun we did with our oldest for her fourth birthday! We usually do a birthday party but opted not to this year since we had so much going on, but trust me, we made up for it. We spent a week at her Aunt Brandy's in Long Island, and she had a blast!

The night before we left, we celebrated with my family here in Va Beach! We went to our (cough), I mean, her favorite restaurant. She calls it the Quesadilla House, we call it, MOES!

So,"Welcome to MOES!"

After we ate dinner we shared in some yummy cake. :-)

 This girl LOVES cakes...

 And so does her sister... lol

 Time for Presents from Grandma Kitty. :-)

 Water Table A.K.A Swimming Pool... LOL

After Dinner We prepared for our 10 hour journey to Coram, NY. Here is "Sissy" being a BIG help and feeding Briella for me so I can get stuff done. :-) 

Once we got to NY, Aunt Brandy had a present waiting for her!! 

 This girl had been begging for a Dora Scooter! :-)

 She also got a sticker book...

 And I immediately got decorated. I didn't mind. 

They were Scratch and Sniff. lol

We headed to Boomers and had the place to ourselves!

 At this age, No tokens needed! LOL

 Her favorite, The Merry Go Round.

For Dinner we went to a Mexican Restaurant. 

(Hey, we like Mexican Cuisine! LOL)

They brought out a hat for her with balloons attached. She loved it. 

Brandy said they normally pop the balloons. So glad they skipped that step! LOL

Nothing like a cake from a NY Bakery. Need I say more? 

No. It speaks for itself.

 It was calling my name.

 Hear it?? It's talking to you isn't it?!

 So pretty. :-) And delish.

Happy Birthday little Momma! You are such a gem to us all! I can't wait to eat popcorn with you while we cry over chick flicks and paint our toes.  

Preach, Preacha Man...

I should be packing, but I am not. Life has happened all to much lately, so I've not blogged in a LONG time. Boy, do I have some recipes to share and things to catch up on, but till then I just would like to show off my "Preacha" Man. :-)

He's quite cute when his hands start flaring like this....

And like this...

And like this...

Okay, one more just for fun! :-)

Yeah... "Iam talkin' ta yous"

But when I see this...

 

And this..

 There goes those arms again...

And that...

 And this...

 I get those warm and fuzzies in my tummies, like the first time I laid eyes on him. I love you "Preacha Man"

Some more for your viewing pleasure. :-)

 (Look he can count to 5) :-) hehehe

(I love his passion)

To be continued with food. lots of food. I promise. :-) 

 

Live Out Loud! :-)