Daddy's Helper

Lately, Abbi has been asking Peter if she could help him with his work. Peter is excited to have a big helper in the house and that one of his children are interested in his trade but he is having a difficult time finding things for a 5 year old to do. When Peter does find things he knows Abbi can help with she gets all excited to be his big helper. This morning she helped me glue in inlay for an acoustic rosette. Later today we are going to take the kids to the REP theater and watch James and the Giant Peach then we are going to Tina and Noah's house for a board game party.

Experimenting

Lately I have been on a kick to try and create new things. I am one of those people who cook because my family needs to eat and not because I want to. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind cooking but I can't say that I enjoy it all that much either (especially all the dishes that come with it). I do like making new things and experimenting with cool recipes that sound promising and I become proud of my creations when I get lots of rave reviews from my food critics (usually my Life Group). At the beginning of each week I make up a menu for each night and then make my grocery list based on what I need for those meals. Coming up with 7 different meals every week becomes difficult sometimes and it seems like we have the same things over and over again. Trying to get out of a rut I decided to expand on what meals I make at home. Earlier in the week I made homemade potato skins. They were delicious and so much less greasy than the kind you order at restaurants. I loaded them with all the fixings and together the family devoured them. Tonight I made homemade chicken pot pie. I know lots of people do this and really it isn't hard but just something I never ventured. I really am not a pot pie kind of person but I know Peter likes them and anything that has lots of veggies is promising in my book. One site I really like and use often is AllRecipes.com. I like them because they give great recipes but also have tons of reviewers commenting on what they changed and what they did or didn't like about the posted recipe. After I find a recipe I always read several reviews to see what I should alter to make it more to my taste. The pot pie came out great and Peter and the kids loved it. I thought it was pretty good but I will add some more seasoning next time around. After dinner I decided to test another new recipe and make chocolate covered pretzels. Everything went pretty smoothly which was a relief because it was my first time using my version of a double boiler (I don't own one so I had to concoct my own). The pretzels coated nicely but after they hardened in the fridge the chocolate was a little thinner than I would like. I will have to try again with a different recipe next time. Another new recipe I tried this week was potato filled crescent rolls. I used the potato filling I scooped out to make the skins and mashed them up with butter and garlic. Then I took crescent rolls (in a tube) and made rectangles out of the dough (instead of the triangles). I put a scoop of the mashed potatoes in each rectangle than folded them over and pressed and sealed the edges. They cooked in the oven for about 15 minutes and then were ready for eating. They were so good, but you may have already noticed I am partial to potatoes. I like it when my cooking experiments go well, it gives me courage to try some more.

Take your Daughter to Work Day

Since we have a new clean building and I no longer sit in a room full of drugs and guns I figured I could participate in our city's annual Take your Child to Work Day. I made sure to get all my real work done yesterday and not have any large projects that needed my attention for today so that I could spend the day with Bresa. We got up really early and got ready for work and then drove off while it was still dark out. Bresa kept saying I got up too early and she was going to sleep in the car on the way. We stopped and picked up McDonald's breakfast, a very special treat, and took it to my office to eat. I showed Bresa how I came in the mornings and emptied the evidence lockers of all things left for me by the officers. We made sure all the lockers were clear and then I took the stuff to my desk to log in. While I did that Bresa ate her breakfast and then started decorating my calendar for me. Once I was done with my logging in and eating my breakfast I showed her how I have to use gloves a lot for protection and how I usually draw on them to make them more exciting than the plain blue that they come in. She loved this idea and went to work making several pairs. We walked around the building and checked my mailboxes and then I took her outside to the shed where I keep my oversized evidence. I showed her my sliding bike rack and told her how the officers locked up bikes and such so that I could come and get them. We took a trip down to the Seminole County Sheriff's Office where she got to meet all my friends over there. They were very excited to see her and asked her lots of questions. Later we went to lunch that City Hall was providing for the kids and parents and had pizza, chips, cookies, and drinks. There were a few demonstrations that they had but one of the CSTs and I had another idea. Yesterday Jake and I had prepared some CD's with our fingerprints and put them in the fuming chamber so we could show the kids (he brought his daughter in also) how it worked. Today, we pulled out the fumed CD's and showed the girls how you could see the fingerprints we left behind. Then we showed them how to dust the CD's and pull the prints. Once that was done we gave the girls each a CD to cover in their prints and then let them dust them themselves (skipping the fuming chamber this time). Bresa was very intrigued with the process and made sure to get all the prints as dark as possible so she could pull them off with the latent tape. Once she dusted, I helped her put the tape on the CD and then she smoothed it out with a credit card so there were no bubbles. Then we lifted the tape and put it on a latent card (plan white card made for the tape). You could easily see lots of fingerprints with very clear ridge detail, perfect prints for catching criminals. Bresa complained that some sections didn't show any prints but after using the magnifying loop she could tell that even when there doesn't seem like anything is there it doesn't mean there isn't. As I was cleaning up and getting ready to go home Bresa played with my stamps and made some pictures. I apologized for not having any cool stamps but she didn't seem to care. When we got home Bresa told Abbi and Daddy all about her day and all the fun she had. I was glad she had a good time and wasn't too bored when I had real work to do.

31¢ Scoops are Back!

Tonight was Baskin Robbins annual Firefighter Fund Raiser where they sell their ice cream scoops for 31¢. I found out about the fund raiser last year and was looking forward to it again. I didn't remember quite when it was so I looked it up on their website last month and got the date about put it on my calendar so I would be sure not to miss it. After I got home from work I made dinner a little earlier than usual and after we ate our yummy pork chops and mashed potatoes we had the kids get all ready for church tonight. We told them we were going out for a nice surprise dessert but they didn't know where. When we got to BR there were a lot of people there and the store did a bit more than they had last year. They had it all set up with a bounce house, face painting, hair coloring, and more. We couldn't stay long because the kids had AWANAS and Peter and I were actually leading a class tonight for one of the adult groups. The girls each got a scoop and Peter and I got two for less than $2 total. Sweet deal! Peter and I shared with Javan and after eating everything up the children got coloring books and Firefighter hats, something Javan now treasures. Can't wait until next year!

Coloring Eggs

Last night I had to pick up a guitar for Peter on my way home and by the time I got dinner together I had to leave for a Women's Ministry meeting at church. Anyhow, we didn't get to color the eggs like we were hoping to do so it got pushed off for another night. Today when I got home from work, I saw the egg kits on the counter and figured we should get these things colored before we eat them all. The girls were very excited to do this (Javan stayed at Grandma's) and so they were very helpful in preparing and cleaning a place for it. Each of the girls got 8 eggs and I colored two and they worked very hard to make each egg just right. In the end we had a bunch of beautiful colored eggs that look very delicious. Now I just need to decide what to do with them.

Christ is Risen!!

He is risen indeed! Happy Easter to everyone, I hope you had a wonderful day full of family and fun but most of all full of the love of Christ. We started our day at church and then I came home with Javan while the girls and Daddy stayed for the second service. When the girls got home and Javan was up from his nap they all dug into their Easter baskets. The Easter bunny brought them lots of fun toys and trinkets and thankfully not too much candy. When I was younger I remember getting stuffed animals but also mostly baskets full of candy. The girls each indulged with one piece to hold them over and then we went outside for a some quick pictures while we were all dressed up. Eventually, we headed off to Grandma's house to share our Easter with her, Jim and Brian. When we got there the kids found the presents Grandma had set up for them right away. Each of the girls got a new swimsuit (desperately needed) and Javan got some really cool beach toys. The kids helped Grandma decorate the annual bunny cake that Papa had made earlier and then we all went out for the Easter Egg hunt. The girls knew that they were only to collect the eggs that had their first initial on it and leave the others where they were. Javan collected a few eggs but then he found one that had a fire truck in it and it was all over after that. He just wanted the fire truck out of the egg (he could see it through the clear plastic on the one half of the egg). We tried to show him some of his eggs but he didn't really care. In the end Abbi ended up picking up the last five or so eggs of Javan's. The girls had a great time finding them and then a great time opening them all up to see what they got. When we went back inside Papa was just finishing up preparing dinner so once we all got our plates we sat done a a delicious Easter meal. Just as we sat down Janell, Wyatt, and Charlotte came over. They got their plates and we all ate together. We just hung out and talked a bit and after some bunny cake we started to pack up. The plan was to color eggs too but it was already after 7 and we had to drive home and the kids have school and I have work in the morning.

Pre-Easter Bust

So there are lots of local churches throwing big Easter things and they all offer different activities but pretty much all of them have an egg hunt for the kids. I was looking in the area and found one in Deltona that went on and on about all the things to do. The times were pretty long so I figured this was our safest bet so after serving for our hour slot at our church's 24 hours of prayer, our Life Group went out to breakfast and then I decided I could take the kids for some outdoor fun. I was wrong. We got to the church and thankfully found a very close and convenient parking spot and then walked over to the festivities. No doubt there was a lot of stuff to do. Several bounce houses, obstacle courses, painting, and on and on. There were several different age hunts of the different age groups so all the kids were supposed to be going at different times. The problem was the first one for us wasn't until another 30 minutes and people were already lining up in the hot sun. No thanks. There were so many people there I could hardly walk without bumping into someone. I had to hold the little hands tightly and make sure we were all together at all times. We found one obstacle course that didn't have a huge line so I told the girls they could go through it. We waited and after the girls were done I told them we weren't going to stay. They were disappointed, of course, because they really wanted to go on the egg hunt but I reassured them the Easter bunny would more than likely leave eggs for their own personal hunt. Later I spoke with my friend who went to the same event and she told me the egg hunt was terrible because the parents push their way through and grab all the eggs for their kids. She said her daughter only got 3 eggs and the place had about 2,500 eggs for each hunt. I was not upset that we left early.

Sweet End to our Fun Day

Last time I came over to New Smyrna I met Bill and Brenda at their old condo, we enjoyed the beach for a while and then we went to this little place that sold sandwiches and ice cream. When I saw Brenda earlier I asked her how to get there and they gave me directions and told me to call when I was headed that way and they would meet me. After the kids got rinsed off and were loaded in the car again we headed to Banana Split Republic. When I came before I had the best banana split ever and I was anxious to get one again. Bill and Brenda met us there and we all went inside to order our treats. Brenda bought each of the girls their choice of cone and I got the banana split to share with my little man. We ate outside under the shade of the trees and enjoyed the wonderful breeze that God provided for us. My ice cream was just as good as I remembered but I was glad the girls wanted a few bites and Javan was always there with his mouth open because I wouldn't have been able to finish it myself. As the kids finished they ran off to play on the bench swings and the rest of us just sat back and talked a bit. Pretty soon it was time to head home, I am sure Daddy was missing us at this point. We said our good byes and then headed off. I figured at least one of the children would sleep on the way home but no such luck. I guess we don't live far enough away for that. I don't know how they still had energy when we got home but after the round of showers and eating a light a dinner I was utterly exhausted. Why does fun have to be so tiring?

To the Beach!

When I was little going to the beach was such a hassle. I mean, it was fun to go but with all the set up and the packing and unpacking, and cleaning and lugging stuff it was just a lot of work. Last year I learned that trips to the beach didn't have to be that way. This morning I packed the kids suits and after our egg hunt we ate our packed lunch in the car and then the kids got dressed for the beach. We already had our buckets from the hunt and I had brought a couple little water balls as well as a shovel. I grabbed the beach bag with towels and off we went down to the water in New Smyrna. When we dropped our stuff the girls took off for the water and Javan hung around me to dig some holes. I just sat back and watched them all. The sky was a little overcast so the sun wasn't too hot and there was a nice breeze that helped too. I had called my friends, Brenda and Bill, because I knew they had come to town to see their friend. They told me they had just left and were eating lunch and would stop by and see us when they were through. Before too long they came walking up and when Javan saw Brenda going to talk to the girls he decided he wanted to play in the water too. We all went and got wet (whether we wanted to or not) and all the kids screamed with delight in the waves. Javan liked the water on his terms but when it came crashing into him he got mad. He ran back and got his bucket and shovel and started digging where the water just ended. Bill and Brenda left to go back to their friend and I just watched the kids play some more. They went back and forth between the water and the sand and worked on a sand castle and caught little crab things. They collected shells and trucked buckets of water from the ocean. Eventually I was ready to go though I know they could have stayed there all day. I still had something planned for us so our day was not over yet.

Egg Hunt and more

Last year Peter and I went to Ohio and got home the day of Easter so we missed out on taking the girls to any of the local churches for Easter Egg hunts and such. This year I was sure not miss them because I know how much the kids love it and I enjoy seeing them have a ton of fun. I went online and found a church in New Smyrna that was about half way from our house to the east coast so and less than 30 minutes away that was having a hunt today. I figured if the kids behaved than I could take them to the beach afterwards and Peter could get some work done at home. I got the kids packed and ready and we headed out in the morning. We got to the church around 10 and there were plenty of things to occupy the kids until the egg hunt started at 11:15. They had a station where you could paint your own (plastic) egg, face painting, coloring puzzle station, Chick-fil-A booth, a large inflatable slide, an area where you could pet goats, and of course the Easter Bunny was there to have his photo taken with the kids. The girls went to town doing everything they could and Javan played on some playground equipment they had for the littlest kids. Finally it was time for the egg hunt and all the kids lined up to participate. When they were told to go it seemed like the kids multiplied and they were everywhere. The girls ran off to collect as many as possible and I stayed with Javan to help him figure out what he was supposed to do. He did really well and found quite a bit. Abbi filled her whole bucket up and Bresa was proud to have found the prettiest egg. The eggs were empty but you were supposed to turn them in to get a goody bag. The lady said everyone could keep and egg or two but when I tried to put a couple back in Javan's bucket he promptly took it out and put it back in the large bin with the rest of the eggs. The kids all had a great time but our day was just beginning.

Beautifying the Church

Every year before Easter our church holds a community day that is focused on cleaning up the church buildings and grounds. Our church actually has these community days each month but they are usually off site at different locations throughout the area where we help clean up parks, build Habitat for Humanity houses, feed the homeless, or a number of other things. Today we came together to get the church looking great for Easter Sunday when we get more than the usual crowd for services. Peter and I brought the kids out at 8 am and we got to work. We pulled weeds, planted flowers, carted and spread mulch, hauled trimmed branches away, and raked and bagged leaves. The day was reallynice out and when you worked in the shade it wasn't too hot. The kids did really well and the girls went from helping to playing to helping and back to playing (it all depended on who they thought was watching). While we weeded Javan pulled all the berries off the tree and then he helped Daddy and I drag some branches. He even helped pick up the leaves to load the wheelbarrows. By noon we were ready to be done and thankfully all the work was accomplished. We went inside for a nice cooked meal and cold water and lemonade. We may have been working but we had a great time and it was fun to work along side those who we normally only see Sunday mornings or Wednesday nights and never really get to talk in length with. Once we got home we all took showers and the boys took naps while the girls played quietly in their rooms and Grandma and I went shopping for Easter basket goodies.

Movie Night

Peter had Worship Team Practice tonight and I wanted to do something fun with the kids. While I was making dinner I asked Peter to run to a Red Box Movie Rental stand and get Disney's Tangled movie. We hadn't seen it yet and I had heard good things about it. I didn't tell the kids my plan but after dinner Abbi asked if we could watch a movie. I told her we could but I wanted to see Tangled. She told me that we didn't have that movie but we could watch something different. I said that I only wanted to watch Tangled but her and Bresa went and picked out three movies each and told me I could pick any one I wanted. I told them to brush their teeth and while they were I put all their movies away and put Tangled in the DVD player. They came in with their quilts and stuffed animals and I turned the movie on. All during the previews the girls were guessing which movie I choose and when it finally started it took them about 5 minutes to figure out it was Tangled. We all enjoyed the movie and may look into purchasing it in the future.

Thirsty Girl

Dr.'s Appointments

This morning I had to take Bresa to school late so I could get her to the hospital for an EKG. She is fine and her test were perfectly normal but the doctor had ordered a test before she would prescribe Bresa medication for possible ADD. After the EKG I had to take both Bresa and Javan to the lab to have blood drawn. Bresa's was for the prescription again and Javan's was just for his annual blood work. Neither of the children enjoyed their stay at the lab and I am sure everyone in the waiting room was happy to see us leave and no longer have to sit through the screams of little children. Since both of them had been so well behaved and put up with everything I put them through I decided to give them a nice treat before taking Bresa to school and taking Javan home. We stopped at Dunkin Donuts and the kids shared some donut holes very happily.