Pumpkin Leek Soup

This soup is A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.

Easy to make.
Yummy to eat!

Comfort food at its finest.

I tried it for the first time last night.
What a treat! A *hit* all around!
I found this wonderful recipe in
this pretty book ~ A favourite that I only
pull out during the Christmas Season.



Be sure to use a sweet pumpkin
such as the "Sugar Pie" variety.

~ Pumpkin Leek Soup ~

Adapted from Mary Englebreit's
"Let the Merrymaking Begin ~
Christmas Volume One"

~ Serves 3 or 4 ~
I made a double recipe for the six of us...
Next time I will make FOUR times the recipe to have leftovers!

~ Ingredients ~

2 Tbsp Butter

2 Medium Leeks ~
white part only, rinsed well and thinly sliced

1 Small Onion ~ diced

4 Cups 1/2 inch diced sweet pumpkin (I used Sugar Pie) ~
about the size of a small non-regulation soccer ball.
LOL ~ is it obvious that there are boys in our home?

* Skin the pumpkin with a carrot peeler,
cut in half, scoop out stringy flesh and seeds.
Save the seeds to toast and discard the stringy flesh.

4 to 6 Cups Chicken Stock (I used 4)

Salt and Pepper to taste

1/2 Cup toasted and coarsely chopped pumpkin seeds for garnish

* To toast ~ wash the seeds and place on a
parchment paper lined cookie sheet.
Generously salt and place in a 350*F oven.

Check and stir after 10 minutes,
continue checking a stirring every 5 minutes thereafter until crunchy.
They will quickly go from "just right" to burnt, so do be careful!

~ Instructions ~

In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat and cook leeks
and onions until transparent and limp.

Add in the pumpkin and stir to coat with butter.

Pour the chicken stock over all until the pumpkin
is covered by about one inch.

Bring to a boil over high heat.

Reduce heat and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes ~
until the pumpkin is very tender.

Use your immersion (hand) blender and puree directly in the pot.

If you do not have one of these handy contraptions,
hint that you would like one for Christmas (smile)
and proceed to blend until smooth in your blender.

Return to pot and adjust seasonings.
Sprinkle toasted pumpkin seeds
over each individual serving.

~ Y.U.M.M.Y. ~

Do Enjoy!
Blessings,
Camille

Challenge 23 - Winner and Top 3

I swear I don't know where the weeks are going.  I'm really sorry for the time I've taken to publish the winner of our last challenge.  Without further ado, the winner of the wonderful Rubber Stamp from Hope Jacare is

Christine Craig.  Congratulations, Christine, email your name and address to cardsformen@donnasden.co.uk and I'll pass it on to Claire.

The top 3 this time were,

41 - Anneke

88 - Cheryl

107 - Kylie

Well done to you all.  Please grab our top 3 badge from the sidebar and add it to your own.  That's all for now, but please take a look at our current challenge which still has a week to go and a fab prize from Bunny Zoe Crafts.

Candy Land: Sight Word Edition!

There are so many fun games out there to teach sight words, but this might just be my new favorite! I mean, who doesn't love Candy Land? As soon as I put this game out in the classroom, the kids instantly seemed excited! To make Candy Land: Sight Word Edition, I found the game on sale at Target for super cheap (only $5!) then typed up a list of Dolch words, cut them apart, and taped the words to the color cards with clear packing tape! The game is played just like regular old Candy Land, but instead of just moving to the color pictured on the card, the kids will have to read the word on the card before moving to the color space on the board. If they read the word incorrectly, they would not be able to move to the color pictured on the card. Easy! I can't wait to put the game in stations this week! {Parents...this would also be a great game for home practice. If you notice your child is missing several words on the sight word assessments, you can use the list sent home and make your own version especially for your child!}

Reaching 1000 ~ A Milestone

When I began all this counting,
it was unclear to me how it would take shape.
I was not sure how long I would keep it up.
I had no idea how long it would take.
I was unprepared for how it would change me.

Little by little.

Reaching One Thousand Gifts was the goal.
Numbering each of them ~

One by one.

I have given extra thought to this post.
This *milestone* journal entry.
It is just that...a milestone, something to note,
but then life continues on...I press on.

"Brethren, I count not myself to have apprehended:
but this one thing I do,
forgetting those things which are behind,
and reaching forth unto those things which are before,
I press toward the mark for the prize of the high calling
of God in Christ Jesus."
~ Philippians 3:13-14 ~

The form of the journal as it took shape ~
week after week and month after month ~
changed and it began to become easier to give thanks.

It became a part of who I am.

Some journal entries were elaborate and
some were simple.
But they all contained bits and pieces of us,
of our family ~ our life.

Real life.

There are times we are called to be thankful
even in difficult circumstances.
We are not called to understand.
We are called to give thanks.
In the midst of the everyday and the messy.
In the midst of chaos and trials.
In the midst of joys and sorrows.
When it seems impossible.
Even then.

It is the mark of a Christian.
The mark of one purchased.
I am not my own.
I have been bought with a price.
I belong to HIM.

It is to HIM I give the thanks.
To the ONE from WHOM all blessings flow.
By HIS grace and for HIS glory.
This day, and the next, and the next and the next.
Until HE takes me home.


The numbering helps.
BUT, it is only a tool.
The purpose is to develop
the habit of
THANKSGIVING.
The habit of
JOY.

Will I continue?
Yes, by the grace of GOD.
Day after day, week after week,
month after month.
As long as HE gives me strength.

Will it always be in this format?
I cannot say.
But for now it is.
For now, I continue.

Numbering gifts ~
To 1000 and beyond.
As I count the last few up to 1000,
the ONE I want you to see is the LORD.
My PRECIOUS Saviour.
Without HIM life is not worth living.

After all, it really is ALL about HIM!


978. He has given us HIS WORD!

979. He is PATIENT!

980. He gives me HIS peace that passes all understanding

981. He is LOVING and KIND

982. He is ALL POWERFUL

983. He is ALL KNOWING

984. He is ALL SEEING

985. He is ALL SUFFICIENT

986. He is PRESENT everywhere all at once

987. He is PERFECT

988. He is WISE and JUST

989. His MERCY extended to me...even while I was yet a sinner

990. His GRACE extended to me each and every day

991. His KEEPING power over my life

992. His CONSTANT care and PROTECTION

993. He HEARS me when I pray!

994. He LEADS me so gently along

995. He GIVES all I need and more!

996. He CARES about all the details

997. He SHOWS me the way to go

998. He PROMISES never to leave me nor forsake me!

999. He is my SHEPHERD

1000. And I am HIS sheep!


**Photo kindly shared with me by my friend Christa ~ So sweet! :)

Oh there is SO much to be told about HIS infinite LOVE and MERCY.
If you belong to the LORD, that is WONDERFUL!
If you do not know HIM yet,
please prayerfully consider this article.

Where will you spend eternity?
Waste no time ~
None of us are guaranteed a tomorrow.

Please prayerfully consider this truth.
Many blessings to each and every one of you!

In His Love,
Camille

First Snow!

It
S.N.O.W.E.D.

We are in for more, so they say.
Last winter we hardly had any snow at all.
But this year it's supposed to be different.
The word is that it's going to be the worst winter our area
has seen in thirty years or more!

We will make the most of it.
And buy winter tires ~ a first for us!

Here are some photos of our first "snow day" ~
Saturday, November 20th.
The day after one of the most frightening
drives I've ever had!

I was
SO. THANKFUL.
to be home!

Oh, the joys of childhood!

A Thankful Plate Full

I am so Thankful to be a first grade teacher, and to build relationships with the children I teach and their families! Speaking of being thankful, a project my class has done each year is the Thankful "Plate Full". The kids take home a large plastic plate, and they decorate it with items for which they are thankful. I love seeing how different each plate turns out! One of my students last year said he was thankful for Nick Saban (in case you don't live in the South...he's the Coach for Alabama)! So funny! {Me too, little buddy.} Anyway, here are some of the wonderful plates created by my fabulous first graders:




On Monday, the first grade teachers presented Thanksgiving activities by rotating in and out of each classroom. The kids made butter, popped popcorn, created indian headbands, and the activity I had the kids make was Mayflower Story Bracelets like the one below:

I found this adorable poem on Dr. Jean's website. The poem goes with the colors on the bracelet!

As I was retelling the story of the first Thanksgiving, I used the picture magnets above! This also helped the kids remember the order of the colors for the bracelets.


We also created a new class book called The Turkey Hid. The kids had to think of a place a turkey would hide to escape being Thanksgiving dinner! This is a lift-the-flap book. The turkey is hiding underneath each drawing!

We also went shopping at the Thanksgiving Store!

The kids used this list to help them shop for items:


Happy Thanksgiving, everyone!!!

Challenge No. 24 - Christmas Cards

We had some wonderful entries for the last challenge, thank you to everyone who entered.  Before I introduce this fortnight's challenge, I just want to give you advance warning of our fast approaching 1st Anniversary.  We started our challenges on the 1st December last year so, to celebrate the success, we are having a blog hop on the 6th December.  We have lots of prizes up for grabs together with challenges and, of course the blog hop.  Please make sure you put the date in your diaries and come back to join in.

So now lets get on with the current challenge which is sponsored by the wonderful Bunny Zoe Crafts.

Bunny Zoe's Crafts is a family run online Craft store who ships worldwide.  We provide friendly and efficient customer service, with quick processing and dispatch of orders.  We sell a great range of Rubber Stamps from around the world, Digital Images, Personalised Stamps, Designer Papers, Stamping Essentials, Copic Ciao's, Distress Inks, Dies, Flowers, Ribbons & Lace, Buttons. Charms, Flat back Pearls and many, many  fabulous card making goodies.

The prize is a £10 voucher to spend at Bunny Zoe Crafts where I'm sure you'll find lots of goodies to tempt you.

Here's the examples from our Design Team which I'm sure you'll think are wonderful:

Patricia

Shirley

Kym

Sarah

Alison

Kitty

Mandy

Issy

Donna

Sadly, this is Issy's last challenge with us.  I'm really sorry to see you go, Issy, and wish you all the success in the future.  Hopefully, we'll still see your wonderful cards entering into our challenges in the New Year.

Finally some rules:

1. Your card must be for a man/boy.

2. It must follow the theme/sketch set.

3. It must be a new card for our challenge.

The challenge will close at 12 midnight (GMT) on the 5th December 2010.  Leave your name and a direct link to your entry (not just to your blog) below.  If the link tool is not there for some reason, then please leave details in the comments and I'll add you in before I do the draw.

Week In. Week Out.

My Monday tradition
is one of thanks.

Week in.
Week out.

It is a blessing to be held accountable like this.
It has been just over a year since
I began this numbering of gifts.

Consciously giving thanks for the everyday.
Giving thanks for the simple.
For the ordinary.
For the things often forgotten.

P.R.E.C.I.O.U.S.

These are the moments to treasure.
Moments to remember.

949. Wild, windy days!

950. Strong winds and no power outtage!

951. Enjoying the wind blowing through the house during the storm ~
I opened the windows on purpose to have a cross breeze.
It all came to an end when Emma came upstairs *freezing*...LOL!

952. The tickety-tap of computer keys while we all type away in the schoolroom

953. Braces on Emma ~ Such excitement!
(Only involving six teeth on the top from 3 to 3 ~ Dental lingo)

954. Christmas colours for Emma's ties ~ fun!

955. Braces off Austin ~ Receptionist Q: "Are you ready for this?"
Austin A: "I've been ready for two years!"

956. Abundance of opportunities and resources

957. Watching Emma type ~
learning with a fun kids' program

958. Sunshine after the storm

959. Notes from friends in the mailbox ~
yaay for snail-mail!

960. A tea bag tucked inside one of those notes. :)

961. Pen pals for Emma ~
cultivating the art of the hand-written note

962. Blogging friends ~ each one of you is a blessing to me!

963. Being surprised at the fact that I have met
so many lovely friends in this blog-world

964. Washing a little blonde head ~
this won't last forever!
How often I am struck with the seemingly
insignificant these days!

965. A very full pantry ~ blessings!

966. A pantry to fill ~ I didn't always have one...
it used to be a coat closet. :)

967. Chickens in the freezer

968. Chicken stock to make soups with

969. A recipe for GOOT ~ Thank you Cinnamon!

970. Probiotics

971. Prayer

972. Knowing that the LORD knows!

973. Trusting in HIM alone

974. Resting in Romans 8:28 ~
and letting it really sink in!

975. An evening of hockey ~ just Austin and me!

976. Safe passage home in a SNOWSTORM! Oh. Dear. Me.
I have only been that frightened while driving a few times in my life...
I'm so glad to be HOME!

977. The prayers of our precious Austin as I drove (and prayed) ~
what a BLESSING!

Short vowel "u" Pumpkin Hunt and Glitter Bottles

To "spice" up the word work station for short vowel u week, I had two activities for the kids to choose from: go on a short u pumpkin hunt, or look for short u words in glitter bottles. I was inspired to do the glitter bottles by one of the best teachers out there--Jessica Meacham! {Love her!}

I got the "Baby Soda Bottles" from a local Parent-Teacher Store. They are made by Steve Spangler Science--another one of my favorites! I stored the bottles and workpages in this plastic suitcase:
The kids would pick a bottle, look carefully at the letters found on the beads inside it, then try to figure out which short u word it spelled. When they figured out the word, they placed the bottle on top of the coordinating square on this work mat:
When they had all the bottles, the kids used this workpage to extend the learning a little bit more:

Now, let's go on a short u "pumpkin hunt"! I hung short u words on pumpkin cut outs all around the room. The kids read the pumpkins, then chose the correct box to write the word in using the workpage below:

Graph-tivities and Give Me Five, Turkey!

You can't be 7 years old and not make a hand turkey--it just wouldn't be right! This week we have been practicing counting by 5's, and of course, we needed an anchor chart to help us practice! The kids traced their little hands and colored their very own hand turkeys, and they loved it so much I have been seeing hand turkeys all over the place! Thanksgiving is such a fun time to create themed activities for math! I have seen some really cute turkey graphs out there in "blog world" that I can't wait to try next week. Here are a few of the graphs we have done lately:





We have been learning a lot about bar graphs! Hmmm--seems like most of my graph ideas are about food!



This tally chart shows that most of us like pumpkin pancakes! Yum.

Tearing Down Idols

I have set idols up in my heart.
I never would have thought it possible.
After all, I have been a Christian most of my life.
The LORD saved me when I was nearly five.

Over the years I grew spiritually.
Sanctification.

But the pride.
Oh the pride!

I taught Sunday School as a teenager
and prepared very little.
Prayed very little.
Really, I did much of what
would be called "serving the LORD"
in my own strength.

Wood. Hay. Stubble.

Idols.

Where did they come from?
My own heart.
My imagination.
I set them up and didn't realise I had done it!

A perfect marriage.
A perfect home.
A perfect family.

None of these are attainable.
And if set up in a high position in our hearts,
they become idols.

The Word of God says ~
"Thou shalt have no other gods before me."
~ Exodus 20:3 ~

How often I have failed in this!
But how GREAT and WONDERFUL our God is!!
He forgives and helps us overcome these idols.
In the everyday a work of Sanctification takes place ~
HE is faithful to complete that which HE begins!

"Being confident of this very thing,
that he which hath begun a good work in you
will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ."
~ Philippians 1:6 ~

As we ask for HIS help and grace,
and seek HIM for forgiveness ~
HE will deliver us from the idols we have set up.
HE enables us to surrender.

Might HE give daily the ability to serve HIM
with all of our hearts and love HIM above all else.

In the everyday.
In the mundane.
In the ordinary.

All for HIS glory alone!

How to Catch a Plump and Perky Turkey...

Yesterday, we read this super cute book:
In the story, all the turkeys have left town because they don't want to get eaten for Thanksgiving dinner! To keep the town of Squawk Valley from eating shredded wheat for their annual feast, the townspeople designed a trap to get the turkeys to come to them. So...we designed our own turkey traps, too! I had the kids work together to brainstorm and share ideas, and they had a blast drawing the traps and writing directions for them. I really did love all the hilarious and genius ideas, but the boat trap idea cracks me up! You have to check out the poster below!


All the posters are on display in the hallway. Here is one of them...

I love that she thinks the oven is a tanning place! So funny!

Poor turkey. She has no idea her vacation is about to end...

Noun Town

Where do people, places, things, and animals live? In Noun Town, of course! The kids thought of everything they wanted to put in Noun Town, and then we created an oversized anchor chart to read during stations. Some of my favorites: a submarine, an army guy, a banjo, and Wal-Mart. I mean, you can't have a town without all of those essentials, right?!

Once In Awhile...

Once in awhile...
I declare a "day off"!

Sometimes...
it's NECESSARY.

It's IMPORTANT!

Have FUN with your children!
Enjoy the time you have!
The time is short.

Soon there will be quiet where there once was noise.
Soon there will be clean clothes in the closet and none in the hamper.
Soon there will be six foot tall men where there once were three foot toddlers.
Soon there will be leftovers in the fridge! ;-)

Soon...

SO...
Capture these moments.
They are to be treasured.
Gifts from HIS hand.

Play games.
Read.
Listen.
Enjoy.

Make memories.
Build bridges.
Tie the strings of their hearts.

Snapshots of our most recent "day off"...

Daddy surprised us with "Twizzlers"...

I took a little time for this...

And didn't do any of this...

But we did take time for some of this...

The boys did some of this...

And we all played some of this...

And then Emma and I helped the boys with some of this...

I'm thinking it's just about time to do it again! :)
What are you going to do on your next "day off"?
AND...When are you going to declare one?