Summer Birthdays....Better Late than Never

Summer has come and gone and so have a couple of our family birthdays!  Don’t ask why I am so late in posting these, because I really don’t know how they got away from me!  

Mitchell turned 17 and we celebrated with a family dinner of his choice…. Pulled Pork Sandwiches, some sides I honestly can’t remember now, and homemade Moo-wiches! Mitchell is fast becoming a man and my momma’s heart is beginning to feel the reality of the fact that this maturity will inevitably come quicker than we can imagine.  Oh the tension of wanting to see him grow and holding onto that little boy I used to snuggle so often. He is a senior in HS this year and enjoying his second year in the Running Start program at our local Tech College.  He still greatly enjoys being a Police Explorer and we are so proud of him as he won the TOP Selections Cadet at his last Explorer Academy this summer. He continues to LOVE his piano and is working hard in anticipation of his Senior Recital in the spring and he has a great job at a local diesel shop.  Our prayer for Mitchell is that his heart will always remain tender to the ways and workings of the Lord in his life. We are so proud of him and look forward to seeing what God will do in his life and where he will lead him!

 

 



We acquired a second teenager in the house this summer!  The teenage girl aspect is certainly new to us but we have greatly enjoyed it! She is still a sweet little girl in so many ways but it has been a joy to begin to see a true young lady blossom inside of her.  Thirteen is a big deal and of course it called for a party.  She had a blast with a few of her dear friends and made some precious memories. She is in 8^th grade this year and while we anticipated that the middle school years could sometimes be hard, we have been blessed and are so thankful for the young ladies in her life.  We look forward to the years to come and to see how God can strengthen them into lifelong friends. The girls played a game where they were paired off and had to apply makeup to their partner while blindfolded.  They laughed, actually we all laughed so hard… it was the best teenage girl game! Our prayer for Isabelle remains the same as Mitchell’s, that her heart will always remain tender to the ways and workings of the Lord.  We are so proud of her and are looking forward to the remaining teen years with her.

 

Umm.... I am pretty sure Isabelle and Hannah did not place first for proper make up application!  

Actually Danica and Colby didn't do too bad compared to Isabelle and Hannah!

 

 

My guess is that Caroline and Payton won!   They did a great job for being blindfolded!

 

 

 

 

 

Young Composers Recital

This year Isabelle submitted a song to the Young Composers Contest through her piano teacher.  She worked long and hard on "A Wandering Heart" and placed 3rd in the piano level she is at!  Last month a recital was held by the LMTA for the composers and she got to play.  She was extremely nervous but still excited to play her song. ...we are so proud of her! I am sorry for the sideways video, I didn't think about how the video would play when I turned my camera sideways to take it!



 

Photography

Isabelle wanted to try her hand at photography with a real camera so away she went!  She wanted to capture a quiet moment of Mary, Joseph and baby Jesus.  She set up the Playmobile nativity, turned out the lights, and convinced her sweet, agreeable younger brother William to hold the flashlight for an unknown amount of time while she snapped countless photos. She enjoyed it immensely and got a shot she was happy with, a great learning experience!

12 Years and Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

Yesterday marked Isabelle’s 12^th birthday…..where does the time go?!? She started off with pop-tarts for breakfast, yes a special birthday treat, not a normal breakfast choice in the Honey home! We spent the afternoon at the lake and the evening eating very nummy food, of her choosing!  Her birthday dinner consisted of steak with the Zesty Flank Steak marinade, thick baked beans, baked artichokes with melted butter and homemade corn fritters with honey butter….yikes it was a delicious meal!! Oh… and I cannot forget, she got her first Mountain Dew!  Soda Pop is a treat here for the Honey children. You don’t get your first real can of pop till your 6^th birthday and then smatterings of drinks thereafter.  When you turn 11 you get a pop the first Friday of the month and Mt. Dew is definitely off limits until your 12^th birthday!  Per Isabelle style, she opened it, drank barely any, shared it with her big brother and the rest sits in the fridge slowly losing carbonation and becoming a sugary syrup undrinkable drink!  For dessert, she had chosen Pink Lemonade Cupcakes from this neat book …. Fun Stuff Cupcakes.  At first I was unsure as the frosting is a little different and it is intended to look “melted” hence the “lemonade drink” look but they turned out really quite well and they were fun and pretty simple to make. 

There are so many things to love about Isabelle, but here are a few heard around the table last night…. “ I love how she is always willing to play with me and play Little House and she is the best sister”, “I love how she lets me build the cabinets she needs in the red building for Little House”, “I love that she goes the extra mile and helps others”, “she is kind”, “I love her cheeks”!!! She is tender, kind, compassionate, giving, has a tender heart for things of the Lord, an excellent sister, an invaluable mother’s helper and a precious daughter.  She is truly a joy to our hearts. 

Pink Lemonade Cupcakes

1 package white cake mix

1 cup water

3 egg whites

1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup thawed pink lemonade concentrate, divided

2 T veg oil

5-8 drops red food coloring, divided

4 cups powdered sugar

1/3 cup butter, softened

Fruit slice candies, straws

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 18-22 standard muffin cups with paper baking cups

2.  Beat cake mix, water, egg whites, 1/3 cup lemonade concentrate, oil and 4-6 drops food coloring in large bowl with electric mixer at medium speed 2 minutes or until well blended.  Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling 2/3 full.

3.  Bake 18-22 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.  Cool cupcakes in pans 5 minutes, reove to wire racks to cool completely.

4.  Beat powdered sugar, butter and remaining 1/4 cup lemonade concentrate in medium bowl with electric mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add a pinch of milk or cream if frosting is to thick.  Beat in remaining 1-2 drops red food coloring until desired shad of pink is reached.

5. Pipe frosting over cupcakes, garnish with candies and straws.



A Little, Little House

I love imaginative play and there is nothing like an old barn and castaway supplies to get the imaginations of children going! Myself and  ALL of our kiddos, including Mitchell (sorry honey), have long loved The Little House on the Prairie.  Many hours were spent reading the books and watching the old show... in fact we have all 9 seasons on DVD!  While the show was not perfect to the book, it was endearing all in itself.  Chad loves to joke that the only hymn they know is “Bringing in the Sheaves” and that Michael Landon takes his shirt off every third episode….I think the latter is a proven fact!  Nonetheless, this sweet series has been and always will be a family favorite.   So… we have this old red barn on the back of our property and boy have the children made a home away from home!  Unfortunately Chad’s desired storage space in the red building has been inched out little by little over the last couple years as the children have expanded their once “little room” to a full “little house” for play! I love that they will spend countless hours in sun, rain or snow playing out there!  They have what they consider a pioneer kitchen, a pantry, a fireplace and sitting area, a bedroom and a dining table. They have made everything from vegetable soup to banana mush to their own ink and quill…that actually worked for a while!  What I love the absolute most is that they have worked and played long hours together to create this “Little, Little House” and in the process, created priceless memories.

I guess SuperMan spans the ages! :-)

I love that in the midst of the pioneer home we have a cordless phone!



Sweet Summer Days

The first days of summer break are upon us and Shelley and Isabelle are doing what my girls love to do best….spending hours in imaginative play.   They spent much of yesterday listening to Your Story Hour, dressed in the period they would have loved to have lived in and weaving on a creatively improvised loom that Isabelle made.  Don’t have a loom at home, but possibly want one?  Take two baby hangers, tightly tie some yarn between them, attach it to two different objects to make it taut and ….WALA…..you have your loom!  I heart summer.



A Mother's Day Quilt

A few weeks ago Isabelle finished my Mother's Day present early....a beautiful quilt!  Under the watchful eye of her teacher, she faithfully spent many, many hours laboring on this special project.  She started it in the fall and put in around 24 hours of work on this beautiful gift. For a couple of years now, she has been learning to sew under the instruction of her extremely talented and so very sweet teacher, Jamie.  These sewing lessons have been one of the best decisions and biggest blessings for Isabelle, there is so much she has learned.  Currently she is working on a new Colonial/Pioneer dress for herself,  it will be a mix from two of her favorite time periods!  Shelley has sometimes been able to go with Isabelle to her lessons and has also had some opportunity to learn from Jamie.  She has mostly focused on handwork like embroidery and knitting, but has learned a little sewing as well.  She very much looks forward to next year when she will begin her own lessons!

What I love is that Isabelle is bringing that instruction home and putting it to practice here.  Over the fall and winter she made little quilts, pillows, mats, play dresses and other stuff for herself and her younger siblings to use this summer in their hours of playing  "Little House on the Prairie" outdoors!  I love that with sewing she uses her imagination, works on planning a project and has alot of fun....all blended with learning a lifelong skill that will serve her well for all of her days! 



Going West

Soccer and Sewing

This last Saturday marked the end of Isabelle’s soccer season!! The girls had an excellent coach and they worked very hard all season and showed great improvement. They were very excited to be in the championship game for the 4/5th grade girls in their league. Even more exciting is they won the championship game and took home the trophy for 1st place!! Congratulations “Blue Jay Girls”!

Isabelle has also had the blessing of taking sewing lessons the last couple years from a great teacher and friend, Mrs. Dickson! Last year Shelley tagged along to quite a few lessons and finished some projects. This year she has been going more consistently and has greatly benefitted from Mrs. Dickson’s teaching also. Jamie is such a blessing to the girls and myself, and is an excellent teacher. A few years ago I wanted to really learn how to sew and she tried to teach me! I did make some projects including, a corduroy jumper dress that turned out adorable that both girls have worn, but let’s just say that Isabelle and Shelley are quickly on their way to surpassing my sewing abilities…..in fact probably already have! I am so glad that younger ones learn quicker and retain more! Isabelle has made doll dresses, doll quilts, baby quilts, cross stitch projects, pillowcases, cuddle blankets, mends our socks and whips out other little projects! Shelley has made doll quilts, doll dresses, embroidery projects and now finished this most recent doll quilt. A fun little note is that since Shelley is not ready for the machine yet, she carefully hand sewed this quilt. This is an especially sweet accomplishment when we consider her extremely shaky hands when we first brought her and William home to us and their "forever home". Times like these are blessed reminders of the work the Lord has done in their little lives and in ours since we brought them home for adoption almost 5 years ago.  It is a joy to see her perseverance and steadfast work on such a project! These lessons with Jamie have helped to blossom such creativity in our girls!  Jamie has really shared her knowledge, her time and her heart with them and I am so thankful that she is instilling in them skills that will last a lifetime!