Puppy play...

This is some of our dog playtime that amuses me...

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This was taken a while back

(my strong silent mysterious man is only running like this at work these days... I am not seeing him upright long enough at home for this kind of playtime)

He walks Taylor down to the end of the street, puts her on a "down stay" command and then gets a huge head start, walks almost all the way back to the house, and then releases her and starts running to see who can beat who back to the front door.

She always wins, even when he cheats like this!

This one is our little Rudy... he thinks he is a big dog at our house!

He has convinced the 2 big dogs that he is the toughest and the "alpha" male in the house. As you can see Taylor will bow down and give into his attitude if he will just play with her. This is pretty typical playtime for them, and it's all fun until Rudy accidentally gets a slapped by a paw or a tail or something and then he is done and play time is all over! If the big dogs ever figure out he is really just a scooby snack, it might be a different world at our house... but so far everyone seems to be happy with the dynamics the way they are. And a good time is had by all!

(you can hear if we encourage him and egg him on, he really thinks he is tough)

And this clip is Morgan giving hugs... we found out one day quite by accident that this head burying thing is her way of giving hugs. She does it better on her own, than under command... but you can see if I beg, she will reluctantly still give out a hug or two.

I really love our dogs, they are a handful sometimes. But all the puppy play and super snuggly hugs, make me happy, and reminds me why I do all that I do to have them in my home and in my life. I love them so much!

Won Ton Recipe...

Last night was my last freezer meal exchange until fall.

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It's kind of been fun trying new things, but I am good for a break from it for the summer. I made a new won ton recipe, they are more of an appetizer; but if you make some fried rice and veggies to go with it, you could make it into a meal.

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For the inside mixture combine 1/2 lb ground beef or pork, 1 egg, 1 T. cornstarch, 1 t. salt, 1/2 c. onion, 1/2 c. water chestnuts both chopped very fine, and a dash of pepper.

(this photo makes it look gross... but it's not)The mixture will fill about 50 won ton wrappers... put 1 tsp in the center of each wrapper.

Dampen the edges so they will seal.

Then you can either fold them in half and half long ways again...

And fold each side in toward the middle, moisten and seal together to make this tortellini looking shape...
OR

you can fold them in a triangle and seal (you can leave them just like this, to cook them in a shallow pan or I think you can even bake them, not sure??)

Or you can fold the two outside corners in for more of a fancy won ton shape (this way took more oil in the pan to cook all the edges sticking up) cook in a pan with 1/2 cup oil or so until golden brown.

The dipping sauce is 1 c. pineapple juice, 1/4 c. white vinegar, 6oz can of tomato paste, 1 c. water, 1 c. brown sugar and a dash of salt, bring to a boil stirring often until it is a thick sauce consistency.

Note to the SSMM fan club: I made these for the teenager when my strong silent mysterious man was working late and NOT home for dinner. He would probably never even try them, he doesn't eat Chinese food.

It was a good thing, because the teenager ate every one of them and there wouldn't have been any left for him anyway.

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This is a super yummy recipe from Emily.

Thanks for sharing... big huge hit with the teenager!

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Thanks to all my freezer meal Mom's for all the good recipes and yummy meals!!

A work in progress...

Yesterday the teenager was out of school for 1/2 day; so it seemed like a good time to tackle the huge project in our back yard.

The cute flower bed, that used to flourish...
Now more commonly known as "the track"

Is on it's way out... and much needed grass re-seeding for the back yard is on it's way in. We took out the dead tree. Moved the rose bushes, which required digging them up, but also digging new holes to put them in. I hope they survive the transplant, it was allot of work. Thankfully I had the teenager to do most of that digging. He was awesome! I was impatient and bossy, so I feel terrible about it today, because I can see how much work he really did, even with me and my fits of how he kept doing it all wrong. I am in severe repent mode today!

Now digging out the cute little fence that is cemented in... that will be our next phase of the project. If I haven't lost my best (and only) worker.

I hope he will accept my apologies... he has some great forgiving qualities about him.

I could never get any of this done without him!

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Thanks buddy, I love you... your the best son a mother

could ever pray to have bless her life! Please forgive me of my shortcomings.

Wordless Wednesday...

The working man...

(he has two of these bad boys to fix this week... 4500 horse power!!)

I have been feeling a little neglected lately from the lack of attention by my strong silent mysterious man... he is really busy at work, it's super crazy busy for him. I am really grateful for all the work he has, especially during this time in our economy... really grateful!!!

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Just when I think he will have some time for ME (it sounds so selfish when I actually say it out loud, I am working on my neediness)... the dreaded water pump/motor for the irrigation system on our street needs to be pulled out and taken to the shop for repairs.

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So for our family night fun, we got to play in the mud. Thankfully we have great neighbors and they are willing to help him out.

We are really grateful he knows how to do this stuff... it would cost us a fortune in labor otherwise... we are so blessed.

Back down in the creepy dark damp hole!

They are actually both down in that hole... it's super deep, but just wide enough to climb down in on a ladder.

Good thing our neighbor is a monkey; I have a feeling I would have been picked next to shimmy up to the top of things to tie off the rope. Phew!
I really was just trying to stay out of the way, hand in tools or hold bolts, and still ended up filthy muddy dirty... and this step, it actually came up over the top of my sandal... SLURP, YUK!
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I am working on my attitude adjustment today; I admit I have been a few degrees off course. Trying to remember and cherish all of my abundant blessings. Honor the grace of God in my life! Not take anything or anyone for granted. And show my gratitude to Him!

Mothers Day...

I haven't figured out how to be still long enough to take "Sunday naps"... however my strong silent mysterious man is a pro at it.

This is about as close as I got yesterday on Mothers Day to taking a rest!

I do love to snuggle with my dogs and watch movies!

More girl fun ~ girls camp meeting...

Summer girls camp planning usually begins right after last years camp ends! This past year, I think we actually started coming up with some ideas during a rest break at the pool DURING camp.

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Some of the details and planning can be a chore, but mostly it's so fun, exciting, and inspiring!

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So by this time of year, we are in full swing training the youth camp leaders. Yesterday morning was another camp meeting... I have been so busy, it came up really fast for me. I had my share of things ready, but it just felt rushed.

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We had a team building, unity game for the girls that tied in a spiritual message at the end... and if this doesn't get you in the mood for girls camp, you may never be ready!

I love laughing with these girls... laughter heals the heart!
I feel so honored to be trusted in teaching and serving with them. Their is an incredible strength that comes from their spirits, and their ability to adapt and fight the good fight against evil in the world today. They are surrounded by it and attacked by it everyday! And still they prevail, smiling all the way! They teach me more than I will ever teach them!
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I can't wait for girls camp!
(remind me of my enthusiasm about the third day
of no sleep staying up late giggling and exhausted!)