Torte

According to Merriam-Webster a torte (pronounced tor-ta) is a cake made with many eggs and often grated nuts or dry bread crumbs and usually covered with a rich frosting. It's also typically known as a layered cake. There are many kinds of tortes.

To me, torte is a specific cake that is tradition to my family. My father is German, and this recipe has been in our family since before I was born. As long as I have memories, my dad has requested it every single year for his birthday.

This year, I decided to choose it for myself. It's sweet and delicious. The cake is light, but the icing is everything. It's a butter cream with pudding. We always cut the cake into multiple layers and spread strawberry jelly between. It holds many memories, and I thought it was time to share it. My grandma and great grandma made this torte from memory. This recipe is from my mother who asked them a lot of questions and made notes on how to prepare it.

The cake is a little finicky and will not be your typical dump the ingredients into a bowl, mix, pour, and then bake kind of cake. This cake is special. It requires time and love. I think that's what makes it taste so good!

The Cake

Preheat your oven to 375°.

Separate 6 egg whites and 6 egg yolks into two different bowls. The egg yolks will get the largest bowl to be used later.

Start with the egg white bowl. Beat 6 egg whites on high speed. Once it's stiffening, gradually add 1/2 cup of sugar. Set aside.

In a new bowl, mix these dry ingredients together:

•  Little less than 1 cup of flour
• 3 heaping tbs. cornstarch
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder

In your third and final bowl, beat until fluffy:

• 6 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 2 1/2 tbs. lukewarm water

Add dry ingredients into the egg yolks bowl. DO NOT STIR. Add egg whites into the yolk bowl. DO NOT STIR. Use a large rubber spatula and gently FOLD all ingredients together. Be very careful to not mix, or you will mix the air out. 

Bake in an ungreased Angel Food pan at 375° for 30-35 minutes. Be careful when you close the oven door. Because if you slam it, the cake will fall, or be lopsided.

The top should be a golden brown color.  Make sure to let the cake cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then turn it upside down to continue cooling. You can put the cake pan up on a cup or a mug. The cake needs a lot of air flow while it cools. Once it's completely cooled you can take it out.

Cut cake into three sections. Be sure to cut it very carefully so you don't smash it. The easiest way to cut the layers, you can take the inner part of your Angel Food cake pan out of its outer shell. You don't need to remove the cake from the pan yet. If you keep it on the flat pan you can now twirl the cake while you are cutting it.

You can add any flavor you like to your layers. We normally put jelly on one layer and the buttercream icing on another. To make the jelly easier to spread, mix in a little hot water.

The last time my mom made the cake she decided to make her own strawberry jam. It tastes SO much better than a jar of jelly. She cut up some fresh strawberries, she added a little bit of sugar, and she cooked them on the stove. She made sure to mash them while she cooked. It's thinner and easier to spread than the jelly is. It was a definite success!

Buttercream Icing 

3 oz. pkg. of cook and serve vanilla flavored pudding
(NOT INSTANT)
1/2 lb. unsalted butter (2 sticks), softened

Make pudding, and cool to room temperature. Whip butter until creamy. Beat while adding pudding a little bit at a time.

• IMPORTANT: Keep butter and pudding at the same temperature. (Warm)
• You can add cocoa powder to the icing to add a chocolate flavor, or experiment by adding any flavor you like to it.

Once the cake is iced, you must put in the refrigerator to harden. The icing will melt since it has so much butter in it.

This cake is so delicious! Enjoy!

Sukhi Bhaji

This is a wonderful dish of potatoes from the country of India. A friend shared this recipe with me, and even included little containers of each spice. So sweet of her. A few years ago she served this dish to me, and just this week I served my first dish. It makes me hungry thinking about the potatoes. They have the perfect amount of sweet mixed in with spicy.

I have a confession to make. Foreign dishes intimidate me. I feel like I will fail just because it's not my own culture and I'm probably not going to perform to their standards. I had the spices in my cupboard for a year. They sat there tempting me. I ignored them out of fear. I thought it would be hard. I was so pleased to find out how wrong I was. These potatoes are delicious and they only take about 30-45 minutes to make. I love easy recipes!

Sukhi Bhaji
4 or 5 medium potatoes
5 tbs. oil
4oz. can green chilies
½ cup raw peanuts
half the juice of a lemon
1 tsp. cumin seed
2 tsp. paprika
2 tsp. coriander powder
½ tsp. turmeric
½ tsp. garam masala
5 tsp. sugar
cilantro
salt

Cut your potatoes into cubes and boil them. While that's boiling crush peanuts and green chilies together in food processor. In a separate pan heat oil, put in cumin seed. Add peanuts and chilies to oil. Cook while stirring for 1-2 minutes. Add potatoes, spices, sugar and lemon juice. Use cilantro as a garnish.

It's that easy! If you like a little spice to your food, you will love these potatoes. They make the perfect side dish. All three of my children even gave high compliments.

Fried Rice

The most generous treat for our family would be dinner at Kiku Steakhouse of Japan. Our kids love the food and atmosphere! All meals are prepared before your eyes on the hibachi grill which makes a fun evening all around. The prices are a little bit higher than we normally spend on dining out, so we usually go but once a year.

Fried rice comes with every meal, and tastes phenomenal. Our kids have requested on many occasions that we try to make our own version for dinner. Over the past few months, my husband has perfected his recipe. I bought him a wok for his birthday and a rice cooker for Valentine's Day. We now have Kiku's rice in our own home almost every week. It makes a great quick lunch on Saturdays, or a fast dinner on weeknights when we haven't much time to spare. There are never leftovers, and every child consumes their entire plateful!

I don't have an exact recipe to share with you, as my husband doesn't measure out his ingredients. Each time it comes out a little different in flavor, but the end result is always delicious!

I start by cooking the rice. We have a rice cooker that does all the work for us. All we do is add rice and water. When we make this as a meal, we normally will do about 3 cups of uncooked rice. I'm not sure how many cups of cooked rice it will end up. It's plenty for our family of five. The rice takes the longest to cook and should be finished before you start frying.

Once the rice is cooked, in your wok, you add a few tablespoons of oil, and a chopped onion. We fry the onion on high until soft or lightly browned.

Add three eggs, and fry. Our ratio is 1 egg to 1 cup of uncooked rice.

Add rice. When we add the spices and soy sauce, we turn it down to a low heat in order to keep it from burning.

We're going to add a few spices now. I don't have exact measurements here. We sprinkle until there is a generous layer covering the top of the rice. We layer each spice, starting with salt. Then we add pepper, ginger, and a final layer of sesame seeds. Mix well.

Our last step is adding the soy sauce, the most crucial ingredient. We add a generous helping of soy sauce. I wish I could give you an exact amount, but it changes every time. Notice we do not fully saturate all the rice. It would be quite salty if we did. Play with it a little and see how much you like.

Once the soy sauce is added, we fry the rice for a little longer, once again on high. We do this for a few minutes, no longer than five minutes. My kids don't like it very crispy, but that's their personal preference.



We love to eat this as a meal, but it also is great as a side dish! To make it more substantial consider frying some shrimp, chicken, or vegetables. Enjoy!

A Man After God's Own Heart

You probably have heard that said about King David from the Bible. He was known for being a man after God's own heart. I like to draw the comparison to my son Gabriel. He has a heart for God like no other child I have seen.

Gabe has always had a very tender heart that often breaks from day to day. One might say he has a temper or other negative things. But what you may or may not know, my son is very repentant. He grieves in the times when he messes things up. You cannot confront him on a wrong without his heart being touched. Immediately tears will come to his eyes. He wants God to be proud of him.

In the past 5 months, Gabe has made it through the entire Bible. I can't say that he has understood every word that he read, but the task has been accomplished and I'm certain he has grown from the experience. On a normal day I will read my own Bible in the hour after school has been let out. This is the time Gabe has dedicated to I Read 20 for his school homework. There have been many days were we have sat on the couches together reading through our Bibles. Sometimes Gabe will share his insightful wisdom he has gleaned. I am often blown away from the things God speaks to him and the many areas that Gabe has applied the verses to his life.

A couple kids in his class are fighting, and he quotes, "Don't hit back; discover the beauty in everyone. Don't insist on getting even; that's not for you to do. 'I'll do the judging,' says God. 'I'll take care of it.'" (Romans 12:17-19)

When he's had a hard day that might have brought me to tears, he tells me what good thing he is focusing on instead.

God is making a difference in my son.

Every day Gabriel prays for a boy at his school who doesn't believe in God. It pains him to hear that someone could not love God. This boy has been cruel to Gabe in many different ways, but every day Gabe still will say a heartfelt prayer for this boy to believe.

A few months ago I went to school with Gabriel. He was with a team of kids and had to answer a few questions. The first question was, "what are your three favorite things?" Before Gabe said a word, another kid on the team blurted out, "We know, Gabe. God. Jesus. And the Bible."

Gabe has a reputation of being passionate about his love for God. He tries to do whatever God tells him, no matter what other people think around him.

Gabriel never desires for anyone to feel left out. When it was his birthday at school, the teacher told him he could ask another student to help pass out cookies. Gabe refrained from doing this. He didn't want to hurt anyone's feelings when they did not get chosen.

I have been very proud of my son. He has made numerous mistakes and lost his temper thousands of times. But each time he is sorry. He knows that without God he is nothing.

I had 30 minutes to throw together Gabe's birthday cake!
Right now he says a yellow crayon represents him.

When it comes to God, he is like a sponge. He soaks in everything he hears. When I teach his class at church, I am certain no one is listening or getting the message. Then a week later, Gabe will quote something I've said in class. He often can grasp the deeper meaning of a situation, not just the surface words that are spoken.

For Gabriel's birthday this year we chose gifts that represented who he is. We thought since he enjoyed his Bible so much, we would get him The Brick Bible. (This is a Lego Bible fully illustrated in a graphic novel form.) If you have a young child and you want to get them excited about reading their Bible, this is an excellent place to start! It has over 400 stories between the Old and New Testament Brick Bibles. The books are a little bit of an investment, but well worth it. You might even want to read through it for yourself. If you click on the picture below, it links to the Brick Testament website. They have all the stories online that you can look through. Me and my husband spent a good amount of time reading together before we bought these books for our son. You will be hooked!



Gabriel wanted a very simple birthday party this year. Right now his other passion besides God is FOOD! He is a growing young man and probably eats his weight in food. Just Kidding. Although it sometimes seems that way. Gabe invited his best friend for a sleepover and out to dinner with us at his favorite restaurant, Kiku Steakhouse of Japan. All meals are prepared before your eyes on the hibachi grill. This makes it not only a great place to eat, but you get some live entertainment.

After dinner, we all went out to a late night movie, Wreck-It Ralph. This was a perfect choice for Gabe since the movie centers around video games in an arcade. What little boy wouldn't enjoy a movie like that? It was very sweet.

The main character, Ralph, is the villain in his own arcade game. He is tired of being the bag guy and leaves to become a hero elsewhere. This leaves the arcade game in big trouble. After 30 years of being "wreck-it Ralph" the game is in danger of being turned off permanently if Ralph doesn't return soon.

To complete his birthday party Gabriel wanted us all to go out to Steak and Shake for all you can eat pancakes. We thought that seemed a bit much on the food side, so we talked Gabe into some pancakes and bacon at home. It was a perfect birthday for Gabriel. He loved it!

Gabe was so excited to get $20 cash for his birthday this year. He was saving up to buy himself a turkey he could cook and eat all by himself! (Thanksgiving is his favorite holiday)

Happy 9th Birthday to a wonderful son!

"I’ve searched the land and found this David, son of Jesse. He’s a man whose heart beats to my heart, a man who will do what I tell him." Acts 13:22

Cheesy Hash Browns

Comfort food! Everybody has some. This dish is mine. I got this recipe from a friend a long time ago. We like to have it at least once a month, sometimes twice. It's been a long week of sickness in my house, and I'm praying the worst is behind us. I needed some good comfort food tonight. This is one of those meals where every person is happy, which makes mom really happy. We usually can get 80 percent of us happy, 100 percent is rare. There is nothing like seeing contentment on the faces of those you love. It can ruin a meal you love to know that others are suffering through it. This meal brings happiness all around!

It may not look very pretty, but it tastes wonderful!

You can leave the hash browns out to thaw for a couple hours, or if you're like me and don't decided until minutes before starting dinner, you can do the quick thaw method. I heat the oven to 200°, put the potatoes in the oven on a tray and let them thaw while I prepare the rest of the casserole.

In a large bowl, you mix together:

16 oz. container sour cream
10 oz. package shredded cheddar cheese
10.5 oz. can cream of chicken soup
¼ to ½ cup chopped onion
½ package real bacon bits (optional)

After you have everything mixed together, you can add your thawed hash browns. Mix well, and place in 9x13 greased pan. After it's flattened in the pan, you add 6-8 oz. of cubed Velveeta cheese on top.

Your final layer of the casserole is corn flakes. You can crush them first, or if you're lazy like me, I shake them right out of the box. I make sure the casserole is covered completely with corn flakes. This is my favorite part so I do a pretty good sized layer. Melt 2 tablespoons butter and drizzle over the cornflakes.

Bake at 350° for 30-45 minutes. I think it depends on how thawed out your potatoes are. If you were in a hurry, you might need to cook the casserole a little longer so the middle comes out hot. The edges will always be nice and hot, but the middle is the trick. This meal is a huge winner with my children. Everyone in the family loves it!

Candy Corn

Who can honestly say they don't love candy corn? Never mind, I don't really need your honest opinion. It's one of my favorite candies, as long as it's Brach's candy corn.

At my last girl movie night, one of my friends made some delicious candy corn desserts. I thought it would be fun to share the recipe during this fall season. The dessert reminds me of cheesecake. It's very rich but OH SO Wonderful.

Candy Corn Mousse
1 8oz. package of cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp. vanilla
1 8oz. package Cool Whip

First you whip the cream cheese until smooth. Slowly add powdered sugar and milk. Add your vanilla. Carefully fold in Cool Whip. Divide into three sections and add food coloring. Layer in clear cups. Keep in fridge for at least an hour before serving.

It's so simple! You know me, I love an easy recipe. If it was hard, I wouldn't attempt it.

I thought I would combine this fun recipe with our fall activities we've been up to. For several years now we have the tradition, on Halloween, of taking the kids out of school for lunch and a trip to the pumpkin patch. We end the afternoon with a small craft we make for our trick-or-treaters. This year since Halloween fell on a Wednesday, we passed out our candy craft to friends at church.

We kept with the candy corn theme, and I put together a fun coloring page for the kids to color. 

You can feel free to use the coloring pages for your own PERSONAL use.  But please be kind and do not claim these pictures as your own or offer them for downloads.  It makes me sad to see my pictures on a coloring page website run by someone else.

**UPDATE NEW FALL COLORING SHEETS**

I have a couple NEW fall Bible Verse coloring sheets available ... 

More Fall Coloring Fun...

I think we can all use a reminder to count our blessings. God is so faithful and He does so much for us. Every day is a new adventure and a new blessing from God.

Care for an example? As I was sitting at my computer, typing this post, I received an email from my friend. This Christmas season our church is going to be sponsoring some families in Mexico with Christmas gifts. Three ladies, myself included, will be flying to Mexico, to deliver the gifts. We are working on raising money and getting donations to help with the flight cost. My friend has a cousin who is a pilot, or so she thought. She figured he might be able to get us a discount on airline tickets. Unfortunately, he is no longer employed by an airline. HOWEVER, yesterday he was looking into making a donation to an organization and ended up changing his mind. Later that day he received my friend's email. His donation was the same amount that the airline tickets have been selling for, and he feels this is the cause he should be donating to. Coincidence? I think not. God was behind it all. Christ's love was overflowing!

Here are a few pictures from the pumpkin patch. My kids had a blast! They changed a lot of things since last year. It's now much more exciting and full of more fun things to play on, under, and in!

"Parched ground that soaks up the rain and then produces an abundance of carrots and corn for its gardener gets God’s “Well done!”

But if it produces weeds and thistles, it’s more likely to get cussed out. Fields like that are burned, not harvested.

I’m sure that won’t happen to you, friends.

 I have better things in mind for you—salvation things!

God doesn’t miss anything. He knows perfectly well all the love you’ve shown him by helping needy Christians, and that you keep at it.

And now I want each of you to extend that same intensity toward a full-bodied hope, and keep at it till the finish.

Don’t drag your feet. Be like those who stay the course with committed faith and then get everything promised to them. Hebrews 6:7-12 (The Message)

Happy Fall to You All!

Tortilla Soup

This soup has a lot of ingredients, but it's worth it! My husband and kids love this. No one ever leaves the table without finishing their bowl, and sometimes 2 or 3 bowls. It makes a lot, so we always have leftovers, which reheat perfectly!

I used to make a tortilla soup that was just okay. Nothing special. But then a few months ago, my sister gave me a list of extra ingredients to add. It went from, "eh" to "WOW!" It's got a bit of heat to it. By the end of the meal, you would think the entire family has a cold from all of the sniffling going on. It will clear up your sinuses!

1 lb. ground beef
2 10oz. cans diced tomatoes with green chilies
14oz. can diced tomatoes
15oz. can pinto beans
15oz. can kidney beans
15oz. can corn
1 can beef broth
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 pkg. ranch dressing seasoning
8oz. Velveeta, cubed

First brown your ground beef, and then add the rest of the ingredients, including the juices from the cans. Simmer on the stove until hot and cheese is melted. Serve with tortilla chips!

Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo

Some of the easiest and best recipes I've found have come from the Kraft website. My sister found this one about a year ago. She was making a special meal for the family before she moved to Colorado Springs for the year. We all love it! I make it at least once a month. The best part is, in less than 30 minutes dinner can be on the table!

1 lb. fettuccine
1 pkg. frozen broccoli
½ cup Italian dressing
1 lb. chicken breasts, cubed
3 1/3 cup milk
8 oz. pkg. cream cheese
½ cup grated Parmesan cheese
1 tsp. dried basil leaves

Cook pasta according to package directions. I add the broccoli for the last 5 minutes of cooking.

Over medium heat, cook the chicken in the Italian dressing. Stir continuously.

Once the chicken is cooked, add remaining ingredients. Stir continuously until cream cheese is melted and the sauce begins to thicken.

Drain pasta and add chicken mixture. Stir lightly together. I let it sit for a few minutes so the noodles can soak up some of the sauce.

This dish is so good! And it reheats great when there are leftovers. Although it's such a big hit with the family, there is rarely anything leftover!

Oriental Chicken Salad

My family has been eating this for years! I remember my mom making it when I was younger. It's easy to make, and tastes great! I am all about simple.

We made this for our friends last week, and got lots of compliments. Okay, the compliments were all from the same person, but who's keeping track? I figured it was reason enough for me to share it with all of you!

First you make the salad:

 ½ cup slivered almonds
 2 tbs. sesame seeds
 1 pkg. ramen noodles, crushed & uncooked (chicken flavored)
 Head of cabbage, shredded (Sometimes I cheat and purchase the already shredded package of cabbage. A purple head of cabbage makes the salad so much prettier!)
 4 green onions, chopped
 1 chopped, cooked chicken breast

Toast the almonds and sesame seeds in oven for 5 minutes. Let cool. (We have burned ours a couple times, and they still taste good.) Toss ingredients together; add chicken.

The Dressing:

 2 tbs. sugar
 ½ cup oil
 3 tbs. vinegar
 ½ tsp. pepper
 1 tbs. salt
 Seasoning packet from ramen noodles.

In a separate bowl, mix together all ingredients of the dressing. You don't want to add the dressing until you are ready to serve the salad.

Enjoy!

Turkey Wraps

I recently had a girl night where we wanted finger foods for a tea party. I'm so glad I remembered these wraps; I hadn't made them for years! They were perfect. I love that they are so simple to make, and taste SO GOOD! You could have them for a meal, or as a snack.

You need tortillas, cream cheese, turkey slices, and some chopped green onions.

I first put a layer of cream cheese on the tortilla, add a few turkey slices, sprinkle the green onions, and then roll them up.

It doesn't get much simpler than that!

4th Annual Graduation Luau

Officially summer vacation has begun! Every year the start of summer is marked by our Annual Graduation Luau. I think out of all the things I do with my extended family, this has to be my favorite. Christmas and Thanksgiving are wonderful, but I LOVE this party. It's a time to dress up, eat some good food, watch some entertainment, and give honor to our children. The weather always cooperates and is beautiful. It makes for an unforgettable night spending quality time as a family!

Every year I like to shop at the dollar store and add new luau decorations to the stock pile. We're starting to get quite a collection! This time of year the dollar store seems to specialize in Luau. Summer is the best time for a party! We found a pack of a dozen or so different luau pictures. Because they were double-sided I couldn't see taping them to a wall. I punched a hole and hung them throughout the trees with yarn. I love how they pop up in various pictures at the party!

Normally we liked to BBQ for this party, but I wanted to go for something different this year. Since our theme was Hawaiian, we went for our family favorite, Waikiki Meatballs. They were delicious! My mom completed the meal by making some fried rice.

Our dessert was adorable graduation caps! I saw the idea on the Family Fun website. They went perfect with punch and were very easy to put together.

Ingredients
Miniature peanut butter cups
Frosting or peanut butter
Chocolate-covered graham crackers
Fruit chews

Instructions
Place a miniature peanut butter cup, bottom up, on a plate. Top with a small dot of frosting or peanut butter, then press on a chocolate-covered graham cracker.

For a tassel, cut fringe on one end and attach the other end to the center of the graham cracker with another dab of frosting or peanut butter.

(My mom made these and added a chocolate chip on top of the fruit chew. I think it added something to the treat!)

Our ceremony always begins with the pledge of allegiance. This time all of our children couldn't even remember the words to it. It's a good thing we had a refresher for them!

Ariel led us in the elementary school song and Gabriel led us in the pledge. We included both things in our program so all the adults could follow along.

Our next portion of the evening is always my favorite, TALENTS. Each year the kids get to choose something they have learned to share with us. We've had some pretty fun things in the past. I can remember one year my niece playing the recorder with her nose! Talk about talent.

Gabriel started us off. He had two different things to share with us. His first thing was an optical illusion. If you look closely at the picture below, you will see it is a young girl and also at the same time an old woman. Gabriel shared the secret with us.

The second trick that Gabe shared was something he called "Math Magic". He first asked for a volunteer from the audience. (We all got a turn in the end.) The volunteer must think of a number between 1 and 63 without saying it out loud. Gabe had six different cards full of numbers. He would hold each one up and ask if your number was on that card. After you answered for all six cards, he could tell you the number you were thinking of. Gabriel loved to dazzle us with this trick!

I found a website that has the trick on it if you'd like to try it for yourself.

Our next performance was done by Ariel. She also had two things to share with us. The first was a science experiment called "Elephant's Toothpaste" and for the second part she gave us an oral report on Hawaii, something she had studied at length this past quarter.

Elephant's Toothpaste
The experiment is to be done in the kitchen sink with proper eye protection. We chose to use the grass in the backyard!

1.) Pour 1/2 cup of 6% hydrogen peroxide (found in a beauty supply store) into a clean 2-liter plastic pop bottle. (You can use 3%, but it doesn't work as well.)
2.) Add 1 to 2 squirts of dish detergent
3.) Add food coloring if desired
4.) In a separate container mix 1 package of yeast in 1 cup of warm water
5.) Pour the yeast solution into the pop bottle and watch the bubbles rise
6.) Remember this is an exothermic chemical change, so the pop bottle will be warm

This is an experiment Ariel learned at her gifted classes. Towards the end of the year they did many chemistry experiments!

Mikaela read us a report she wrote on her hero. It was so good! I was very proud of her, and I asked for my own special copy of it for my keepsake box. Her first hero she told about was Tim Tebow, and she concluded with her hero who by far surpasses him, Jesus Christ. For the fun part, she read the report with a British/ Australian accent.

You can't have a graduation ceremony without some diplomas. We always like to give out awards for the special things they have done through the year.

Zechariah was awarded for "doing an awesome job learning A-B-C-D, being Mom's special leader and for entering a new level of obedience!"

We always try to give out a spiritual growth award too. This area is just as important as feeding the mind.

"This honor was bestowed upon Zechariah for excellent participation with Grandma in Bible Study and nurturing your spirit through daily prayer journaling with Mom."

Gabriel got the High Achiever Award for "the successful completion of 2nd grade and for having 3 books published with a 4th awaiting final publisher's approval!!" His spiritual growth award read the same as Zechariah's.

Ariel received an All Star Student for ACADEMICS award in recognition of "your completion of elementary school and the gifted program with exemplary excellence."

Grandma read a note written about Ariel from the overseer of the gifted education program. "Ariel is an all-around great student! She has very good academic skills in all subject areas. Her strengths include both language arts and math. Ariel demonstrates good control of the English language; she is able to speak and write extremely well. In reading, Ariel displays good comprehension and she reads all types of books. Ariel is a good thinker and problem solver. If there is something she does not know, she will find a way to figure it out. She sets her goals high and is a hard worker. Ariel has outstanding leadership qualities; she has many friends and she is kind and respectful to everyone. Ariel is fair, kind, understanding, and makes good decisions. Ariel is a wonderful young lady!" What high praise for her!

Ariel's spiritual growth award was a little different than the boys. 5th grade marks the end of many things, but also the beginning. "This honor is bestowed upon Ariel for excellent participation with Grandma in Bible study and nurturing your spirit through daily Prayer Journaling with Mom. You are now leaving behind E.K.A.P Club (elementary age prayer club at our church) and before school prayer and are entering into a new level of prayer- personal prayer journaling!"

Since kindergarten I have been doing prayer journaling with my daughter every day before school starts. Middle school begins minutes after my boys are just waking up. We will no longer be able to have our prayer time at 8am as a family. Ariel will be on her own, learning to put into practice all that she has learned! New beginnings!

Congratulations, Graduates, for a job well done!!

I thought this picture was hilarious! When Gabe threw his hat up, it got stuck in the luau sign. After that he kept jumping to see if he could fit his head into it. It looks like he's being hung by the hat!

I believe we will be doing this graduation ceremony until all my kids graduate from high school. I was contemplating this year if my kids would ever outgrow it, but I believe even if they feel they have, it will still be a necessity. Humility is always good for a person. We may not always make paper hats. We may change the style a little. But we will always celebrate all that they have accomplished. I love giving them a night where we the parents and grandparents take time to honor all their hard work. They have earned it!