Mango Salsa Sundaes

It's been awhile since I shared a recipe, so today seemed like the perfect opportunity.

Last week, I celebrated a birthday with one of my closest friends. For our dessert, I felt like we needed something extra special to eat because she is extra special to me. These mango salsa sundaes were perfect. She loves mangos!

This is a Pampered Chef recipe from several years ago.



Mango Salsa Sundaes
12 (8-inch) flour tortillas
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 tbs melted butter or margarine
1 cup strawberries finely diced
1 ripe mango, peeled and finely diced
1 kiwi, peeled and finely diced
1 lime
1/4 cup sliced almonds, coarsely chopped
1 jar strawberry ice cream topping
Vanilla ice cream

1) Preheat oven to 350°. Trim tortillas to form triangles, discard scraps. (I save them, add a little butter, cinnamon sugar, and cook them up for a tasty treat.) Cut a 1-inch slit in each side of triangles. Combine sugar and cinnamon; mix well. Place butter in microwave on high for 20-30 seconds or until melted. Brush tortillas with butter; sprinkle with sugar mixture. Press tortilla into wells of muffin pan. Bake 18-20 minutes or until golden brown and crisp. Cool for 5 minutes.

2) Combine strawberries, mango, and kiwi in small bowl. Zest lime to measure 1 tsp., stir in gently.

3) For each sundae, spoon 2 tbs. of strawberry topping on plate. Place one tortilla shell onto sauce. Place one scoop of ice cream inside shell, and top with fruit salsa. Sprinkle with almonds, and serve immediately.


These are so delicious!
The party wasn't a total surprise, but enough that my friend didn't know it was a birthday party. She just knew we were getting together for a morning at the park.



We didn't have a schedule or anything. We just let the kids play at the park, ate a picnic lunch, and had some very yummy birthday treats.



Cynthia is very important to me. She came to me as a friend when I was desperately seeking God for a fellow mother to spend time with. God answered my prayer, and brought her all the way from Mexico, just for me. Okay, maybe it wasn't only for me, but it was definitely a God answered prayer. I love her so much, and I am happy to be able to call her my friend. God is good!

Summer Adventures

Now that we have our own car to drive whenever wish it, we can do practically anything we desire. Our world is open, and we're ready to conquer it.

Normally each summer I have scheduled the entire thing, something different for every single day of the month. I found that when Ariel was on summer vacation after kindergarten the summer flew by and I was saddened by how little we actually did together. I did not want that happening ever again. My time with my children is very precious to me, and so short. I must be making the most of it.

This year our summer adventure schedule is looking quite different. I wanted to have a more spontaneous summer. We do have a list we'll follow, but it's not yet decided what we'll do and when we'll do it.

During the first week we were off, I sat down with the kids and made a huge list of what we'd like to do and accomplish this summer. I now have broken the list into three categories. We have the things that cost money, the things that are free, and the activity days which require a little more planning. Totally separate from those categories are the things that must be done on certain days, or require scheduling for my husband to get off work -- Like vacation time!

Here is the list my kids came up with at random:


Swimming at Condo
Swim beach
Chocolate party/ movie day
American girl tea party
BBQ at park with friends
Camp out in backyard
Tom Sawyer book party
Movie theater
Projector movie night in basement
Reading day/ write stories
Bird day/ experiments and learning about different breeds
fly kites
Zoo
Museum inside toys
Museum outside toys and hike
Veggie Tales day
All of the city playgrounds
Slip n’ Slide / Sprinkler
Spray Park
Bike race
Hawaiian Ice
Beauty day
Hike
Tie-dye
Lunch with dad at work
Cake decorating
Putt-putt
Carousel/ train
Water fun in backyard
Jungle/ Rainforest day
Tea party
Breakfast at park
Alphabet Hunt
Library / bookmobile
Paddleboats
Lake
Artist day
 zoo/museum – camp out
Play in rain
Sonic
Tent/ board games
Rainbow day
Art Lab
Picnic on a trail
Museum movie night
Jesus bingo
Children’s museum
Dr. Seuss Party
Make homemade ice cream
Contact paper / t-shirts
Cookies for teachers
Banana smores

On Sunday night, we choose an activity day that we'll schedule for sometime during that week. This can be anything from Rainbow day to Beauty day to an American Girl Tea Party. Usually we like to put a lot of thought into our activity days, and we love to include our friends for them.


In the past I have spent lots of money on our summer fun. This year I thought we'd try to cut back a little and have only one day a week maybe two that cost money. We might be going to Orange Leaf, making tie-dye t-shirts, or playing putt-putt.

With our remainder 3 days, we'll have fun that cost nothing or very little. We have lots to choose from here. There are so many places that you can picnic or take a nature hike at! We might have a bike race, or make homemade ice cream, have lunch with Titus at his work, or build a tent in the house and play board games. Our fun is practically unlimited here.

I think we're really going to enjoy making our summer fun so spontaneous. Every night at dinner, we have drawn a slip of paper for the next day's activity, and each night a different kid gets a turn drawing that name. We're still going to stay very busy this summer, but each day we'll have a surprise at what will be happening next!

Maybe you can use some of our ideas to make your own summer full of fun!

The End

I've been giving you updates on the progress on our new car, and I didn't want to leave the subject without a conclusion.

God is so good!

I know that He has been with me through the entire experience. If it wasn't for Him, I would probably be wallowing daily in self-pity thinking, "Why did this have to happen to me, to us?"

If you've missed any part of our car journey, it actually started 10 months ago, when I made a personal declaration "I declare I will take things one step at a time, one day at a time, because God has not given me more than I can handle!" 6 months later, we purchased our car, and God was helping me through my darkest hour, which actually has become one of my most popular blog posts. Then a month later God was working on tearing down the walls that I had built. And my last update the light in me was towards the end, when I was feeling overwhelmed, and wanting the whole situation to be a thing of the past.

I am very happy to say, that the end is here. Or maybe it's that we've finally reached the beginning with this car.

At times it has seemed really silly to me that I've made this big deal out of our car, when it's just a car. But God has been using it to help me grow. I've prayed prayers over and over again, to build my faith, let me be an example to others, show me how much you love me, and God is faithful to answer. You can't be an overcomer unless you have something to overcome.

This journey really started 10 months ago when we were left with only one car for our family to drive. We couldn't afford a second car, so we had 6 months to pray, and wait, and learn patience. God has been there for me every single step of the way. My husband and I have learned to depend more on each other, and I have learned to depend more on God.

If this had happened years ago, I would have been consumed by worry, and not been able to cope or do much else. Each time I questioned what was happening, God answered me with a song, and a declaration.

I've often felt like I don't have much privacy since I began this blog. Every time I have a struggle, I feel like God is saying, "Share it! Maybe someone else can benefit from your pain and trouble."

I've had a few times where I've been proud, and not wanted to write for the world to see how I doubted God, or didn't trust Him. But each time, I eventually was brought to my knees and obeyed. Sometimes to obey, is to humble yourself before God and everyone. I would love to act like I have everything together, but it's actually far from the truth.

Last night at church, our pastor said something that really is sticking with me today. If you stop struggling, you're in trouble. There is always something that you have to be working on. If you want to pretend that you have it all together, you're only fooling yourself.

Our car is home at last.

I was thinking about it earlier this week, and asking God why did we have to go through all this? Why couldn't He have stopped us from buying the car?

He does not always stop things from happening to us. But I do believe He cries with us when they happen. I believe He was right next to us, shaking his head, thinking, "this is not good, but I'm going to make it right."

"We know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them." Romans 8:28

"So be truly glad. There is wonderful joy ahead, even though you have to endure many trials for a little while. These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy." 1 Peter 1:6-8

God not only was there as my faith was tested, but He had blessings for us all along the way.

The last update I gave was about the timing chain breaking while the mechanic was test driving our car after he had fixed the dented transmission pan. Between going back and forth with the warranty insurance we were given, it was decided our car needed a new engine.

I am so thankful we were given that insurance as it cut the cost of the engine in half. We were only responsible for $1400, as opposed to $3000. That may sound like a lot of money still, however, God provides! In the past 6 months, my husband was given a 30% raise at his job. That means we had enough money to pay the bill, and we weren't even required to break into our savings account.

God is so WOW!

If we were given this bill a year ago, or even 6 months ago, it would have made life very hard. But God's timing is perfect. He knows what you're going to need, and when you're going to need it. All you need to do is live faithfully for Him, and He will do the rest.

I now have a beautiful bright orange car, with air conditioning, a CD player, power windows, cruise control, a shoulder harness for even the middle back seat (I am really safety conscious so this was a HUGE blessing to get), and it runs perfectly. These are all things that our other car lacked.

The engine we replaced ours with only has 50,000 miles on it, compared to the 70,000 that we bought it with, so this was a blessing in disguise. Or maybe it was not so disguised. God works everything together for our good.


Through this whole process, God has done great things in me. If I was perfectly honest with myself, I wouldn't go back and change a thing. I have found that I'm much stronger that I ever would have given myself credit for.

When I used to look at the car, I would cringe. I couldn't see anything good. All I saw was the lies and dishonesty, the trouble it caused, the arguments with my husband that came from it, the fear and worry I battled with. But now I see God, and the work He's done through that car. It's not just a car to me. It's a symbol of God's provision and blessings in my life. It shows me how strong I am, and I know that with God's help, I can overcome anything.

With all that said, I will leave you with the words of my 3 year old son, Zechariah, "Us need to use that orange car!"
Liberty Truck Sales Mounds Oklahoma
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3 Little Blessings

How can I say it differently each time when really it means the same exact thing? It's always the same old story, just a new chapter. My children are my biggest blessings.


We haven't been able to leave home too much this summer vacation since we are temporarily a one car family. We don't want to wake up early to bring Titus to work, so we've had to be creative in finding our fun right here at home. The kids haven't complained about it at all, and we've still been able to be adventurous.

The first week we were out of school, the kids surprised me with a Mom's Special Day. Gabriel told me they wanted to say thanks for all that I do for them. He said I work so hard for them washing their clothes, doing the dishes, and vacuuming the house every day, that he wanted to do something special for me. What a kid, huh?

I relaxed on the couch, propped my feet up and quietly read a book to myself. In the other room, the kitchen was alive with activity! Ariel and Gabe googled a recipe for cake and frosting, and put the entire thing together themselves. They mixed it, poured it, cooked it, frosted it, and even cleaned up after it.

I did nothing.

They spoiled me, and I was overjoyed to let them. It's in those special moments that you can feel God's love so overwhelmingly, and I often tell myself "This is what life is supposed to be like, full of love, laughter, happiness, peace, and pleasure."

The kids even went so far as to inquire what my favorite colors were so they could know what color to make the frosting. Not only was it a priceless moment because of the thought behind the gift, but the cake was delicious too. It tasted like a giant sugar cookie cake. Yum! Yum! They added a candle to the top for each of them.


During the baking, one of the kids made the mistake of placing the cake and oven mitt on top of a burner that was still on. They had a little mishap, as it caught on fire, but still it didn't ruin the beauty of what they were doing for me one bit.

We simply cleaned up the mess, talked about the danger of what happened, and how we could prevent it from happening again. The kids were the first ones to point out how God was there with them, and protected them. God is such an integral part of our lives, that my children are readily able to give Him all the glory and credit for what He's done for us. In the end, I was actually thankful for the mistake that was made because it showed me even more how beautiful my children are. I revel in their faith.


This week the kids had another surprise for me. They put together a treasure hunt that would send me around the neighborhood, house, and backyard. Both kids worked together on the clues and hid them all over the place.

I thought it might be fun to share all the places I was sent with you!


We live right by the middle school, so the kids and I took a walk down the street to get our next clue.


There's a pond further down the road. We had a picnic lunch while we were there.


I had a bit of trouble figuring out this clue. It's our honeysuckle bush in the backyard.


Another bush in the backyard, just slightly larger...


We store all our old baby clothes in plastic bins down in the basement, so we were back in the house for this clue.


My daughter has a bird bath in the backyard.


Picnic table...


Grill...


Another tall bush in the backyard...


I had to dig in all of Gabe's short pockets to find the next clue!


We have two small bushes that sit right next to each other.


At first I thought this must be my treat, the kids wanted me to take them on an exotic vacation. However, after getting some help, apparently the dog next door's name is Cabo, and he always lives right next to our fence, where he stares longingly at our family.


We headed back inside to Valentine's birdcage. I had to grab the next clue out of her food dish!


Our dinner table...


Our shed in the backyard...


I did it!
The hunt was a lot of fun, and I really appreciated all the time and thought that my kids put into it for me. It's amazing how something so simple can be so memorable.


After they put all that effort forth for me, I thought it was time for a treat. We put together some very tasty Banana Smores. I found the recipe in this month's Family Fun magazine. You just pile chocolate chips and mini-marshmallows on your banana, wrap it in foil, and grill it for 5 minutes. Very fun to make! We overcooked ours just a little too much that the bananas started to turn to liquid, but I still thought they were very scrumptious!

As I've been writing this, my daughter has been in the kitchen making me some snickerdoodle cookies, a favorite of mine! How could I be so blessed? My 3 little blessings just melt my heart.

Kids Say the Darndest Things

Zechariah and I are always going back and forth about what our kisses taste like. I will tell him his kisses are yummy, and he will say mine are yucky. He enjoys teasing me.

On Saturday night I was giving him a kiss, and he wiped it off telling me my kisses were dirty. I gave him a pouty face, to which he responded, “Later your kisses will be yummy.”

I waited awhile before kissing him, and tried again. This time he told me, “No, tomorrow your kisses will be cute, at church.”

So the next day, after we had been at church for awhile, I remembered his promise and reminded him. He very sweetly stuck out his cheek for me, smiling. When I had finished kissing him, I asked him where his kisses were. I wanted one.

He very sadly shook his head and replied, “My kisses is all gone. I need to go buy more.”

It’s amazing what that boy will do to tease me and try to rob me of my kisses!

3rd Annual Graduation Luau

Summer vacation is here! I can't believe how fast this school year has gone. It feels like it was just a few weeks ago we were mourning the loss of summer, and yet here it is again.

The kids have been out of school for almost a week now, and we have kept very busy. We've been cleaning, doing yard work, and just watching movies and playing around. I love having this special time with my children. The only downside to having my kids out and staying so busy; I have very little time to blog. I have lots I could blog about, but practically no time to get it written.

With school getting out, and summer vacation arriving, that means, Graduation Luau! The kids really enjoy this event we put together. It recognizes all the hard work they put into the past year, and also celebrates the joy of being a family. We all love this party!


This year, we were the only ones who remembered to dress "luau". I can't resist getting that fun family picture with everyone sporting their colorful attire.


Gabriel was graduating from the 1st Grade! He learned so much this year, and has become an excellent reader.


Ariel was graduating from the 4th grade! She made many friends, and learned a lot with her teacher, Mrs. Booth. It's hard to believe that now Ariel only has one more year at her elementary school and then she's on to middle school!



We started off our ceremony with Gabriel leading us in the pledge of allegiance.


The kids learned several patriotic songs this year. We chose to sing, "Home on the Range" a favorite of Ariel's.


We had each kid share a special talent with us. Gabriel started us off by reading his story he wrote titled, "Charlie and the Math Factory." You can probably guess what it's based on.


Ariel read us a poem, "Garden Happiness" that she wrote in her gifted class, and then we quizzed her on states and capitols.

Mikaela shared with us about her science project she did trying to hatch baby chicks.

Zechariah just needed to join in on the fun, and stole Mikaela's cap she made at school.


Each of the kids received a special award of excellence for the grade they completed, and they also were given a certificate for having excellent participation in Bible study with Grandma.


Ariel and Gabe shared with us 1 Timothy 4:12, the verse for Kid's Prayer on Sunday's at church.


We are all very proud of our graduates!


After the graduation ceremony was complete, it was time to party! We all put together some chicken and sausage shish kabobs, a requested favorite of the kids. I must say they were delicious!


At Ariel's request, we all had fruit smoothies with our BBQ.


As we all finished eating, and spent time hanging out, everyone was welcome to check out the kids work they did during the school year. We saved many papers, but in reality a very small fraction of what they worked on this year. They did a great job!


Valentine is with the newest member of the family, Autobahn.



After all the food was put away, we played a couple games the kids learned in school. Ariel taught us how to play "Sparkle". You stand in a circle, and someone will shout out a word, while the rest of the players spell it. The first person says one letter, and then the next person says the next letter, and so on. When the word is completed, the next two people try to race to say, "Sparkle!" Whoever doesn't say it first is out. Then another word is spelled until you are only left with one person. It was fun!

Gabriel taught us to play "Heads Up 7-up!" I remember playing this when I in grade school.


We ended our party with some very delicious cheesecake.


So-papilla Cheesecake
2 (8 ounce) packages cream cheese
2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract or 1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 cup margarine or 1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup cinnamon sugar mixture

Using a 9 x 13 baking pan, unroll one package of refrigerated crescent rolls and line the bottom of the pan. Mix together the cream cheese, sugar and extract, and spread over the crescent rolls. Unroll the other can of crescent rolls and place on top of cream cheese mixture. Pour one stick of melted butter or margarine over the top and sprinkle with about 1/2 cup of the cinnamon sugar mixture. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes. It's guaranteed to be a hit at any party!

It is at events like these that I feel so blessed to be a part of this family. We always have so much fun together. If you missed it, here is last year's Graduation Luau!

The Light in Me

Our car situation has still not been completely resolved. Through it all, God has shown me many things, and helped me to see the light in the situation.

When we first brought our car home, I shared with you a post In My Darkest Hour. It was the first time we realized our car may not be all that we thought it was going to be.

God was helping me through a dark time, and I promised that I would still believe. Even when everything is so hard, and my faith is all but gone, I will believe that God will see me through. He has never given up on me, so how could I give up on Him?

God gave me a picture of a dark winding road that I had to trust Him to follow. It was not easy, and it was not clear which way I would need to turn. But if I just took it one step at a time, I would eventually be brought to a city full of light, and God would reveal His plan to me.

A little over a month later, we were dealing with some more car issues. The dealer we bought the car from, was less than honest with us, and we would be paying the price for his dishonesty. It was then that I posted Tear Down These Walls.

I had allowed myself to build walls of protection keeping everything and everyone out. My fear began to take over me, and I took my focus off of God, who could make everything right. I was overwhelmed, and looking to myself to figure things out. It wasn't until I realized this that my struggle lessened. God was in control again, and things were good.

In retrospect it seems so easy to trust God, and I often wonder, why do I falter in this? God has come through for me time and time again.

My only explanation is my humanity. It is natural to be fearful, and distrusting, and full of worry. To have faith is supernatural. I am not perfect, and I cannot expect myself to be.

Our car has been at the mechanic for the past three weeks. We brought it in initially to have the check engine light fixed, and to replace a dented transmission pan. We were pleased to find the dealer did not completely break the check engine light; he just covered it so the light would not shine through. This still resulted in a $200 bill, however we knew it could have been worse.

God was already preparing me for this new challenge that I would be going through. We dropped our car off at the mechanic on a Wednesday afternoon. As we were driving there, the song "In my darkest hour" played on the radio again. I was a bit fearful, but figured maybe God was telling me the hour was almost over. That night we went to church, and sang the song, "Tear down these walls." I told God, no matter what happens, I will still be strong. My faith will stand firm.

As the mechanic was test driving the car after he replaced the pan, the timing chain broke. He had to be towed back to his workshop. Now while I am very thankful it happened to him while he was driving it, I'm still frustrated that it had to happen.

I keep wondering, "what else could possibly go wrong on this car?"

The good news is that immediately the car was able to start the process of being fixed. The mechanic sent word to the warranty insurance we were given, and the paperwork is going through.

They have gone back and forth trying to fix the issue. The insurance is being difficult, but thankfully we have it and it will be fixed. The mechanic says the car should be as good as new when he's finished with it.

Through all this, we haven't received a new total for our bill. We do have a deductible we'll have to pay. Some things are not completely covered, and some are not covered at all.

I know that God is at work in all of this. I'm just tired and worn out. We've owned the car for 3 months now, and it's been out of our possession for more than a month of that time. I'm still driving my husband to work, and occasionally needing to pick him up.

I feel like I'm taking baby steps to follow God, but I know at least I'm doing it. As I was dropping Titus off at work this morning, the drive back home started to get to me. I'm emotional from school getting out, and my allergies have been driving me crazy. Neither of those things helped me.

I just started whining on the way home. I was trying to explain to God why I can't keep doing this. I need it to be over. I don't want to hear or think about this car anymore. I'm done.

It was when I yelled out, "God, why am I living in this darkness? I want to see the light of the city," that the words on the radio station made it through to my ears. "You put the light in me."

I broke down and cried. I could hardly see the road through my tears. I listened to the words as if God was speaking directly to me, because I knew that He was.


"You are the Maker
You tell the sun when to rise
I'm just a house on a hill
But You make me brighter
Than all the stars in the sky
Keep me from growing dim

‘Cause in Your perfection
I'm just a reflection
So pull me closer to You
I'll catch like a fire
And I'll hold You higher
‘Cause You put the light in me

I'll raise it high, I'll let it show
From the roof tops down to the streets below
In day and night, You will be known
And all will see
You put the light in me

The spark
The shot to the heart
You are the hope that leads me
Out of the dark
You let Your love shine down
So that the world can see
You put the light in me"

God is the hope that leads me out of my darkest hour. The seconds are ticking by, and soon the hour is going to be done. No matter what happens today or tomorrow, God put a light in me. I don't have to wait until I finally get to that lighted city.

The light has been inside me all along.

I want everyone in the world to know that my hope comes from God. And even when everything is dark and fearful, I have a light inside me that will shine out.

"God, you put the light inside me."

"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven." Matthew 5:14-16
Liberty Truck Sales Mounds Oklahoma
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The End