What?!! You want to give what for Christmas?!!!

This year. those on my Christmas list will be receiving homemade vanilla extract. At least, those are my plans.
I got the idea over at heavenlyhomemakers.com Laura gives a step-by-step tutorial and it seemed simple enough, so I thought I'd give it a try. There are only two ingredients: vodka and vanilla beans.

Since my husband and I don't drink alcohol and don't want to give others the impression that we do, I had to give some serious consideration as to how I was going to acquire a gallon of vodka ( Yes, you read this correctly, a GALLON of vodka). Fortunately, our little town doesn't have any liquor stores (makes for a nice community), but the next little town has a lot of them and I considered driving over there and purchasing some. But, unfortunately, I did teach in that town for a year and it would be just my luck that some little boy or girl would be driving by about then and think, "Wasn't that my second grade teacher coming out of that liquor store with a brown paper bag?" Let's see, those kids would be about 14 years old now and very impressionable.

So....on to my next idea. I was getting ready to take a trip to Oklahoma to visit my sister and decided to ask someone in her family to get the vodka for me. (Most of them drink and know that I don't approve of it, so I did feel a little like a hypocrite asking for their help.) Anyway, that didn't stop me though, and when my grown nephew walked through the livingroom, I called him over and said, "Kelly, do you still drink?" He stammered a little and said, "Well, once in a while, but, but, not like I used to." I could just see him thinking, "Uh-oh, here goes another of her little sermons," so you can just imagine the look on his face when I asked him if he'd mind going and purchasing a GALLON of vodka for me!

Did you know that you can buy vodka in plastic bottles? That was a relief! Because my second concern was that once I had the vodka, I might have a car accident, the bottles would break, and the newspaper report would show that I had open containers in my car! Anyway, despite all these obstacles and a very stressful drive back, I arrived safely with my vodka, ordered some wonderful smelling vanilla beans off the internet and set about making the vanilla.

It's now been in the jar for a month and once a week, I shake it, open it, and take a big sniff.

It's really beginning to smell more like vanilla and less like alcohol! I think it's going to work!!!

Now, on to the next problem.........where do I get little glass bottles suitable for gift giving? Do I order a case over the internet? Does that look suspicious? Will they think I'm making something illegal in my home distillery ...I mean, my glass jar? Next year, I'm giving monogrammed towel sets. That's a lot less stressful!

Grandparenting a Special Needs Child

Last Friday our granddaughter, Lilly Grace, spent the night with us. It's always a joy to keep Lilly, even though we can't do the typical things that other grandparents do with their two year old granddaughters.

Lilly isn't able to see us, can't hold her head up without assistance, and has never rolled over on her own. She has to be fed mostly by feeding tube and has three or four seizures a day.

At this point, you are probably thinking, "How can these people find any joy in this situation?"

Honestly, I would have felt the same way before grandparenting this child. But when I hold this beautiful little girl in my arms, I experience the same pride that all grandparents feel.

In my eyes, Lilly could not be anymore perfect. When she squeals in response to my voice, I wouldn't be anymore thrilled if she were able to say "Googoo" or "I love you". When she rubs her little nose against my shirt, it's just as special as if she were able to reach out and hug me.

If I catch her very early in the morning, she might even smile in response to my "Good morning, Sunshine!''

I know that Lilly will never be able to walk, ride a bike, or run and play with other children.

She will probably never be able to see a blue sky, a rainbow or rain falling from the sky. But I know that Lilly experiences love every minute of her life. She knows the tender caress of each member of our family and is never alone in her darkness.

We often have friends tell us that we are an encouragement to them because of the way we, as a family, handle Lilly's condition. I don't feel that we are exceptional in any way. Lilly truly is a gift from God. Through her, he has taught us unconditional love, patience, and to rely on Him for strength in all situations.

When our lives provide us with unexpected circumstances, we can either choose to be "victims" or to be "victorious". We have chosen the latter and will continue to love and cherish each day with our special grandchild!

Making an "Eye Spy" Bag

Recently I made these cute little bags for the grandchildren of several friends. They are great for church, doctor's office, or long car rides.


Here is a step-by-step tutorial if you'd like to try one.



You will need these supplies:

two 8" squares of fleece fabric

one 4" square of heavy, clear plastic

small toys or objects to fill the bags (30-40 items)
(I like to include beads that spell out the child's name.)

plastic pellets

one 10" strip of grosgrain ribbon

one sheet of inkjet printer fabric (can be purchased at Jo-anns

Step 1: Place the clear plastic in the center of one square of fleece. I like to place it slightly above the center because I embroider the child's name below the plastic window.

Step 2: Place the piece of tissue paper over the plastic and pin both to the fleece square.

Step 3: Sew around the square using a slightly larger stitch length than you would use for regular sewing to prevent the needle from just perforating the plastic and causing it to tear.

Step 4: Tear away the tissue and turn the fabric over to the right side.

Step 5: Cut an X in the fabric. (Be sure you don't cut through the plastic.) Trim close to the seams, exposing your "window".

Step 6: I would now embroider the child's name below the window. If you don't have an embroidery machine, this can be done by hand or can be skipped altogether.

Step 7: Next, you will need to type up a list of all the items in your bag and print it out on fabric paper. I buy june tailor inkjet paper at Jo-anns and follow the printing and preparation instructions on the package. Pin and sew your list onto the other square of fleece.

Step 8: Fold the grosgrain ribbon in half, place diagonally and pin to one of the upper corners of the front piece. Placing right sides of both squares together, pin the four corners.

Step 9: Sew around the square, leaving at least a 2" or a little larger opening on one side . Sew diagonally across the corner with the grosgrain ribbon. Trim seams, clip corners and turn right side out.

Step 10: Topstitch around the bag (except for your opening) to reinforce the bag.

Step 11: Measure out 2 cups of pellets. I use a funnel to pour the pellets into the bag. Next, add all of your little toys to the bag.

Step 12: After the pellets and toys have been added, machine stitch the opening closed. Be sure and double stitch for reinforcement. You now have a finished "eye spy" bag which can be enjoyed for many years!

Pick 'n Edom!

Last Monday we made our annual trip to Edom, Texas to pick blueberries. Edom is about 19 miles southeast of Canton and is a great destination for a day trip! This was Michael's fourth year to pick blueberries and even though he had to get up quite early, he was really excited!

We arrived at Blueberry Hill Farms about 9:00 a.m. and picked until about 10:30. This year the blueberries were plentiful and very sweet. If you've never picked blueberries, it's a lesson in patience. Unless you find several berries in a cluster, they have to be picked one at a time and you only have one hand to pick with because the other one is holding your basket. Our first year, we were a little overly enthusiastic and took the biggest baskets into the field to pick. After about 30 minutes we brought them back to the barn and traded them for the smaller size! It's a lot more fun to finish with a small basket that's loaded rather than a big basket partially full. I know that's purely psychological, but it works when the temperature is close to 100 degrees and you're pondering whether Edom is big enough to even have an ambulance service or if they would just let you die in the field if you were overcome with heat exhaustion.

After picking, we enjoyed one of the heavenly blueberry muffins baked by the owner's daughters. Blueberry Hill Farms is a family owned business and the whole family chips in. The farmer, his wife and three daughters run a little store on site that sells muffins, ice cream, pies and lemonade all made with their delicious berries.

After cooling down and changing to dry clothes, we headed on down the road to the Edom Bakery, where Mendy and I enjoyed a great lunch of quiche and salad, while Michael feasted on a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and entertained us with songs about picking blueberries.

Wow, it's awesome to view excitement from a four-year-olds perspective!

Then, it was back home to wash, dry and fill baggies for the freezer. FYI: We've found that

if you put blueberries away dry, they won't clump together and it's easy to remove just the right amount needed for a recipe.

Here's our favorite Blueberry Smooothie recipe. It makes enough for two.

Blueberry Smoothie

Ingredients:

one banana

one-half cup of blueberries

one-half cup of fat-free vanilla yogurt

one cup of skim milk

one packet of Equal

one cup of crushed ice

Directions: Combine all ingredients in blender and mix until blended. Pour into two glasses and enjoy! This is a great lowfat treat for breakfast or an afternoon snack.

Happy Father's Day to all dads everywhere!

Happy Birthday, Austin!

Austin and his parents, Vince and Jera, are members of our church family here in Dallas. Vince and Jera are a wonderful young couple who prayed for many years to have a child. When the opportunity to adopt in Russia was presented , they worked and saved for several years so they could travel to an orphanage thousands of miles away and bring little Austin back.

We,at our congregation , eagerly watched from home as Jera blogged from Russian for three weeks and showed us pictures of the little blonde haired toddler who had quickly stolen their hearts.

That was over three years ago and it has been such a pleasure to watch little Austin as he begins to grow " in wisdom and in stature and in favor with God and man". May you have many more happy birthdays, Austin!
(Austin is on the left in the picture above with Michael, my grandson)

What's a Googoo?

When my daughter was expecting her first child I spent many hours contemplating what this first grandchild should call me. I just couldn't see myself as a granny, mimi, mammaw, nanna, etc. so I decided on a nice, dignified "grandmother". When I told my daughter the name I'd chosen, she immediately vetoed it as "too stuffy and formal" so... it was back to the drawing board. My next choice, "Gramma" was deemed acceptable by all and I began imagining myself as Gramma. I could see a polite, well-dressed little girl or boy taking me by the hand and saying, "Gramma, let's take a walk in the garden and pick some flowers." (Actually, I don't even have a garden.)

So, when our little bundle of joy was born, it was "Gramma" this and "Gramma" that until he reached the age where he actually started to express himself and what came out of that cute little mouth? You guessed it! "Googoo"! Yep! Just like those gooey, chocolate covered, peanut clusters!

And now, four years later, when I hear a little dark headed,brown-eyed boy with a big grin on his face yell "Googoo!" across a crowded mall, I beam with pride as he bounds over and wraps those sweet little arms around my legs. Who cares if bystanders are all saying "What's a Googoo?"