Good Day!

We had a great day today!  We started our new after school program. We picked up 16 children from Indian Springs, Holston, Blountville Elementary and Tri-Cities Christian. Because of staggered Kindergarten, we will pick up the other two children on Friday when they begin school.  We only have 2 spots left in our after school enrichment program. God is good!

Tomorrow, Wednesday, We will begin our outreach with TCCS.  Each Wednesday we pick up children who would like to come to church on Wednesday night.  Most all of the elementary children will be participating in Hip Hop from 4-5. Afterward, they will eat dinner together and attend our New Study "Pilgrim's Progress" from 5:30-6:30. The Middle School & High Schoolers from TCCS will be supervised by Mehiella in room 201 until church begins.

Can't wait to have another awesome day with the kiddos :)

Back to school tips

If you are like most families you are in the "Back to School" mode.  I found a very helpful document on easy meals whether your children go to school or home school.

Adjust waking and bed times before school starts
Check your children’s bus schedule
Check out after school activity opportunities
Meet with school nurse on any important medical information about your child
Label all school items
Mark your calendar with all important school dates and activities
Prepare a special spot for forms and items that come home for parental review
Make sure backpacks are purchased and packed the night before
Review and complete school supply list
Purchase extra school supplies for the items you know your children will use later and plan to shop on tax-free days
Create a homework center in your home
Review school dress code with your child and make a list of back to school clothing needed
Discuss with your child lunch choices and post school lunch schedule 
Compile all contact information for parents that can pick up your child in case of emergency and re- view with your child
Familiarize yourself with the school website along with the school’s policy for checking out your child Make sure you have a weekly scheduler
Keep extra change handy in your child’s backpack to make sure there is always lunch money available Talk with your child about daily school schedule in advance to eliminate stress
Have nutritious snacks on hand for after school
Make sure your child has all the required immunizations
Schedule a medical exam if your child requires one for school sports 

5 -Day Lunch Menu Any-Store

MEAL#: Side dishes are in ITALICS

INGREDIENTS: Side dish ingredients are in ITALICS

INSTRUCTIONS: Side dish instructions are inITALICS

Meal 1
TURKEY PINWHEELS
Grapes, Baby Carrots & Rice Cakes

1⁄4 c tub-style light cream cheese 1⁄2 c salsa
4 whole wheat flour tortilla
12 oz thinly sliced deli turkey
4 slices cheddar cheese 4 lettuce leaves (Toothpicks)

In a small bowl, combine cream cheese & salsa. Spread evenly onto tortillas, leaving a 1⁄2” border around edges. Place turkey slices, cheese slices & lettuce leaves on top of each tortilla. Roll tightly. Cut each wrap into 1” pieces crosswise. Use toothpicks to secure.
Pack with grapes, baby carrots, and rice cakes.

2 c seedless grapes 2 c baby carrots Rice cakes

Meal 2
PEANUT BUTTER BAGEL SANDWICH Strawberries & Celery Sticks

4 whole wheat bagels, split 1⁄2 c peanut or almond butter 2 medium bananas, sliced 1⁄4 c raisins

Spread 1 T of peanut butter on each bagel half. Top four bottom halves with banana slices and raisins. Top with other bagel halves.
Clean and half strawberries. Cut celery into 2- 3” sticks. Pack with sandwich.

8 oz strawberries, halved Celery sticks

Meal 3
MEXICAN ROLL-UPS
Tortilla Chips, Cherry Tomatoes & Grapes

15.5 oz can black beans, drained and rinsed (1 T lime juice)
(1 t cumin)
(Salt and pepper to taste)
4 whole wheat flour tortillas
1⁄2 c salsa
1⁄2 c shredded Mexi-blend cheese 1⁄2 c shredded lettuce-optional

Place beans, lime juice, cumin, salt & pepper in a small bowl. Mash with a fork or potato masher. Spread bean mixture onto tortillas, leaving 1⁄2” border around edges. Add salsa, cheese & lettuce. Roll tightly.
Pack with tortilla chips, cherry tomatoes & grapes.

Tortilla chips
Cherry tomatoes
2 c seedless grapes

Meal 4
Make Ahead! Freezable!
PIZZA MINI MUFFINS
Veggie Sticks with Dip & Sliced Pears

10.75 oz can condensed tomato soup (3⁄4 c water)
1 c shredded mozzarella cheese
1⁄2 c chopped turkey pepperoni
(1 T dried minced onion) (1 t Italian seasoning)
3 c all-purpose baking mix (Cooking spray)

Preheat oven to 350 ̊. Combine tomato soup, water, cheese, pepperoni, onion & seasoning in a large bowl. Add baking mix & stir until moistened (will be lumpy). In a sprayed mini muffin pan, divide batter evenly among 14 mini muffin cups. Bake 17-20 min. Cool 5 min & remove muffins from pan. Cool completely. If desired, wrap tightly in plastic wrap. Freeze up to 1 month. Thaw at room temp or microwave 30 sec.
Place Ranch dressing in a small container. Cut pears into slices and sprinkle with lemon juice. Pack broccoli, carrots, Ranch dressing and pear slices with muffins.

Ranch dressing
2 med pears, sliced
(Lemon juice)
2 c broccoli florets, cut into bite-sized pieces 2 c baby carrots

Meal 5
TURKEY BAGEL SANDWICHES Strawberries, Cherry Tomatoes & Rice Cakes

(1⁄4 c mayonnaise)
(1⁄4 c Dijon mustard)
4 whole wheat bagels, split 12 oz thinly sliced deli turkey 4 slices cheddar cheese
4 lettuce leaves

In a small bowl, stir together mayonnaise & mustard. Spread on bagels. Place turkey, cheese slices & lettuce leaves on bagels.
Clean & halve strawberries. Pack strawberries, cherry tomatoes & rice cakes with sandwich.

8 oz strawberries, halved Cherry tomatoes
Rice cakes

Bonus Packable Dessert!
CHOCOLATE CHIP WHOLE WHEAT BANANA BREAD

(11⁄4 c all-purpose flour) (1⁄2 c whole wheat flour) (11⁄2 t baking soda)
(1⁄4 t salt)
(1⁄2 c sugar)
(1⁄4 c vegetable oil)
1 egg
1 c mashed banana
(1 t vanilla extract)
12 oz bag mini chocolate chips (Cooking spray)

Preheat oven to 350 ̊. Whisk together both flours, baking soda & salt in small bowl. Combine sugar & oil in med bowl, & beat at med speed with electric mixer until smooth. Add egg & beat until light in color. Add flour mixture alternately with banana, blend well after each addition. Stir in vanilla and chocolate chips. Pour into greased 8x4x2” loaf pan, and bake 40-50 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Cool completely before slicing.

(Staples are in parenthesis)

Don't forget to make time for your Family! I challenge you to eat at least two meals a week together (in the same room).
 Click here to begin planning your Family Dinners

1st day of school

We are starting (homeschool) school today! I am always so excited about the first day of school. I can hardly sleep the night before in anticipation of the new school year. It must be the teacher in me :). I made yummy cinnamon rolls this morning to celebrate the first day. Now we are ready to hit the books. I hope my girls are as excited as me, however, I doubt they are.

Loser mom day!

I forgot to take Macey to a birthday party, gave away some "very important" cupcakes that Macey had made with a dear friend of hers and was totally unable to help my oldest daughter Madeline with her girl drama today.
Maybe I need to read Proverbs 31 again!
Tomorrow will be a new day! I will do better!

Retirement, a funeral & Dr. Pepper

Busy day traveling I-81. My mother has decided to retire. My daughter Macey & I attended her retirement luncheon in Greenville, TN. We ate The general Morgan, a beautiful restaurant inside an old inn. I was honored to be a part if this special day with my mother. She is a blessing to so many people. It was a great celebration.

Afterward, I met up with Ann Dunkin & Sandy Miller to travel to Rural Retreat,Va. That turned out to be an adventure. We have a good friend who serves in the children's ministry with us and her father had passed away. We were traveling for the funeral. It was a great visit with Dawn Shinault, Tammy Coates and the entire family. There were not lots of tears. Her dad had been ill for a while and the family was truly celebration his life on earth and rejoicing that he was in heaven now.
After the funeral we were beginning to be hungry so we decided I be adventurous and eat in Rural Retreat. The place we found was called Joey's Country Kitchen. We walked in the door and the entire restaurant turned to see of the knew us. It was obvious we were not from there. The tiny restaurant was absolutely packed and it was desperately understaffed. We waited for people to finish eating and leave; then we claimed our table. We stood by the table for a moment thinking some one would clear the table for us and then we would sit down. No so. I cleared the table and asked a lady to wipe it for us. She took our drink orders and we waited. We waited for 30 mins or more for our food but we had great conversation. We, Sandy & I, rarely get to sit and chat with other people on staff with us. It was a great time o fellowship with Ms. Ann. We did not even know it had been 30 mins that we waited until "Joey's Sister" came out to apologize for our wait. We figure since the grilled cheese sandwich was only $1.75 it was ok.
On the way out of the restaurant we found out the Dr.Charles Pepper lived in Rural Retreat for many years and ran a pharmacy there. He developed the drink "Dr.Pepper" in that pharmacy. There is a town in Texas that claims that they are the home town of Dr. Pepper but actually, he moved there after he retired to be with his daughter and grandchildren. Lol. Just a bit of fun trivia for you today :) You just never know what new things you will discover until you are willing to step off the beaten path :)

Lice lice baby

Oh the joys of ministry:). We are huggers, we love on lots of children from a variety I backgrounds everyday. Vbs,we rolled on the floor with them. Camp placid, we did everything... We swam, ate, slept, counseled and baptized them. We love to love on children. Somewhere in the process we have gotten lice. The past three weeks have been spent combing through hair. Treating everyone in our house, and washing everything washable in our home on the sanitize wash cycle. I have tea tree oiled every surface in my home. So to make light of the situation our new favorite song is a new version of an old 90's song. We sing "lice,lice baby". I am happy to report that we are finally lice free. So.. No more lice, lice baby.

Summer craziness

Vbs is over :) had great fun with all the kiddos learning about missions! It was lots of fun skyping Beth Guckenberger! Her curricula "tales of the not forgotten" was easily adapted into a vbs covering a variety of missions topics and learning some geography along the way.

Camp placid: Akua Makana, was 10 days with around 250 children. We had so much fun learning how to meet up with Jesus,follow Him and tell the world about him. I could not list all the special people who have made these events a success... But thank you! The volunteers who take off work & put life on hold to minister to the children in our community are such a blessing to the children and to me.

As the countless moments flood my mind I am sure to share them with you.