SquiRe's News!

Last week SquiRe walked out of Mom and Dad's room with a glowing smile. He declared to us some news that made us all beam too: "I am a Christian!"

"Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repents." (Luke 15:10)

I am so glad to have, what SquiRe calls "a double brother". Not only is he my brother in this life, but infinitely more wonderful is that he will be my brother in the life to come!

Praising God,
Ashlin

"For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time," (1 Timothy 2:3-6)

Chichins and Roosoos

Even though he says, "No." he means, "Yes!"

And it's true. All the sudden we have ten of them. Six chickens and four roosoos--um, I mean roosters. I know, way to many roosters.

Isn't she so funny looking?

So far that ^ is the only one we have good pics of.

"She's right behind me, isn't she?"

A little bit of sun during a rain streak.

The chickens came much sooner than we expected, in fact we didn't have much time to expect them at all. A neighboor called saying he wanted to get rid of his chickens and could he bring them by right now? So here we are working on the chicken coop.

He wanted to help.

Letting in some sunlight.

Caught you on camera, Risa! Ha!

So there you have it. Soon to come: a post with more chick-pics and their names as well as pictures from Momo's time out of town.

-Sam

Riddles!

The answer is:Whale "So get your Bible and read with care; You'll find my name recorded there." Genesis 1:21 Ezekial 32:2 Job 7:12 Matthew 12:40 If not all of the lines in the poemmade sense to you I've given the explaination in red. "God made Adam out of the dust, But thought it best to make me first; So I was made before the man, According to God's Holy plan. " Swimming creatures were made on the 5th day. Adam was made on day #6. "Later, for a purpose God did see, He placed a living soul in me. But that soul in me God chose to claim, And from me took it back again." Jonah "Without arms, legs, feet, or soul, I travel on from pole to pole." Whales are long-distance travelers "I labor hours by day, by night to follow man to give him light. Thousands of people, young and old, will by my death great light behold." Whale oil burns very nicely in many lamps. But the whale must be killed to get the oil. Mr. D did pretty well solving that riddle so quickly! My hat goes off to him. =)     Risa made some riddles for us, and solving them was a really fun game. I'll share them with you, since those who so kindly commented said they enjoyed riddles. You could use these for family game night. Maybe you'll have fun racing your family members and seeing who can figure out the most.    The rules: Replace the underlined word with a "body part" word. For example: Macaroni noodle. Would be Elbow noodle. And, Me, Myself and Myself. Would be Me, Myself and Eye. Get it?   Splurge not, want not.   Intelligence or brawn?   No deciet about it.   Stop, Spot!   Cool and happenin'!   The game is begun! The Tortoise and the Rabbit Get to the main part of a matter. The disciples plucked the spikes of grain. Kill the fatted baby cow. The penalty is 50 strokes of the whip. The mice run down the front of the clock. He has a thick outer covering.  Don't kick the supports of the table!                                      Would you give me some help? Do you like tropical trees? Everyone is certain that cockroaches are evil. How many numbers are there?                                                 Get weapons for yourselves, men! Meet me at the start of the river. They are two cars in front of us. We had to pull the trailer. How did you get the boat through the thin part of the bottle?      She's so proud, I don't think I can handle it!                        What is in your treasure box? Baby-back meat is so messy! The edge of the book was worn and creased. Be sure to clean the rim of the jar.                                           　 　 "It is the glory of God to conceal a thing; but the honor of kings is to search out a matter." ~ Proverbs 25:2 ~ Hope you enjoy! ~Ashlin

Yummy! Lovey! Wild!

Last night I made 3 dozen yummy truffles and right now there are none left. I have to share them with you all.

The recipe is very simple and not too time consuming. I'm not a fan of chocolate or peanut butter but I liked them. Not one person didn't like them. Even if you don't like being in the kitchen, you should still try these. Baking pays.

And I mean that quite literally. I made each of my family members give me a kiss and/or hug before partaking in these creamy, crunchy balls of goodness. They all gladly paid, except Sam who point-blank refused and ate six or seven without the required payment. From Sam I usually get a hug about every 1 to 2 months.

Here is what you will need for these bits of delightfullness:
1 (scant) cup of powdered sugar
1 (heaping) cup of peanut butter
1 cup of rice crispy cereal
1/2 cup of chocolate OR 2 chocolate bars
My family likes dark chocolate, and because the filling is so sweet, dark chocolate isn't too dark for those who aren't fans. You could use milk chocolate or melting chocolate. Whatever you like. That's the rule.
(When I made these I added some cream cheese in with the peanut butter because it made the filling creamier and slightly less sweet.)

You can make your own homemade, HEALTHY(ish) powdered sugar if you want. Simply measure one cup of sugar (I used some Organic Evaporated Cane Sugar and some Raw Coconut Crystals) and dump it into your vita-mix, blender or food processor. Turn it on. Wait until it has changed to a powder-like texture and BADDA-BING BADDA-BOOM!

Start by mixing cream cheese (if using) and peanut butter. Add the rice krispies (you can crush them first. You know the rule, however you so desire) and the powdered sugar and mix well.

Roll into balls (truffle size) and place on cookie sheet, foil, or parchment paper. Set aside (in freezer or refrigerator if you want them cold while you dip them).

Now melt your chocolate in a double boiler. Carefully dip each truffle and roll it in chocolate. When it is completely covered, place it on a cookie sheet. When they're all covered, just stick them in the freezer until the chocolate has hardened, about 2 minutes.

I keep them piled up in a bowl in the fridge until a little while before I'm going to serve them, and then I just let them sit out for a few minutes before eating. But they were really good cold too. Many of the people in my family stick candy bars in the refrigerator and eat them cold. Once again, however you like them, ma chéri. I hope you and your family like them as much as my family did.

Did you know that tarantulas can crawl upside down? Yes, they can. I didn't know that either.

I stepped outside, looked up, and a tarantula was crawling above my head. I was scared it would fall on me the next time I came through the door and I would startle and it would not be enjoyable for me. (Though it might be enjoyable for any onlooking siblings.) To get it down I bumped it with a broom and it still hung on, upside down, completely unphased. I'm quite impressed with tarantula skills. We have been having fun spotting tarantulas. I think SquiRe is in the lead, claiming to have seen 6 or 7. None of us has the guts to pick one up and hold it, but that's probably best because if we did we'd probably freak out and drop it. And the tarantula might get hurt.

I tried, I really tried, to upload a video of Jack playing "Feelings" with me. He is so cute signing "grumpy", "surprised", "scared", "excited", and "lovey". Well, he is cute regardless of what he is signing, isn't he? But after 3 tries I realized it wouldn't work. So use your imaginations if you will. Maybe you'll see it some other time. =)

Have you been spotting any wildlife around your parts? What's the wildest, yummiest, or lovey-est thing you've seen this week?

Have a lovely, yummy, wild week!

~Momo

In 1890 a gentleman in Philadelphia offered to pay $1,000 to anyone who could write a puzzle he could not solve. A woman in California wrote this riddle in response. He failed to solve it and paid the money. Can you answer it?


God made Adam out of the dust,
But thought it best to make me first;
So I was made before the man,
According to God's Holy plan.

My whole body God made complete
Without arms or hands or feet.
My ways and acts did God control,
But in my body He placed no soul.

A living being I became,
And Adam gave to me a name.
Then from his presence I withdrew,
And more of Adam never knew.

All my Maker's laws I do obey,
And from these laws I never stray.
Thousands of me go in fear,
But seldom on the earth appear.
All my Maker's laws I do obey,
And from these laws I never stray.
Thousands of me go in fear,
But seldom on the earth appear.

Later, for a purpose God did see,
He placed a living soul in me.
But that soul in me God chose to claim,
And from me took it back again.

And when this soul from me had fled,
I was the same as when first made;
Without arms, legs, feet, or soul,
I travel on from pole to pole.
My labors are from day to night,
And to men I once furnished light.
Thousands of people both young and old,
Did by my death bright lights behold.

No right or wrong can I conceive;
The Bible I cannot believe.
The fear of death doesn't trouble me;
Pure happiness I will never see.

And up in Heaven I can never go,
Nor in the grave to Hell below.
So get your Bible and read with care;
You'll find my name recorded there.
WHO AM I ?

(HINT: The answer is one word and only appears 4 times in the KJV Bible.)

Of Cub Scout Cupcakes, Rain and a "Dork Beetle"

A Peek Into Our Day

(Warning: This maybe very... boring.)

We have been blessed with rain. This ↑ is a picture of our front yard before the rain. Even before the rain we got a rainbow, how sweet is that!

As we took a walk last evening the sky was a beautiful grey, ready to rain.

I took a picture of my sisters next to the tallest agave plant in our neighbor hood.

Samantha took a picture of said agave plant from a more artistic angle.

I love the scenery in our new neighborhood. We have mountains to the North, South, East and West!

During our walk we spied many critters. Of the rabbits, horses and goats, we have no pictures for you. But we did see some ants that were "connected". One was carrying the other.

See?

It was really weird. So of course I took a picture just for you, Reader.

See how this beetle's leg is up and out? Picture each of those legs taking
exaggerated steps over and over again. It makes it look like it's
walking, well, dorkily. (A word to me.)

Then this morning we dropped off some cookies and cupcakes to the Cub Scouts. (The Cub Scouts are having a bake sale today.) These cookies are ranked in our top ten best cookies. They were so good.

Want the recipe?

These are the cute cub-cakes we made. Sam saw a picture on some cooking blog, and we did our best to duplicate. I think they turned out pretty well.

After delivering the baked goods, some of us played Monopoly. Goldilocks can't play, but she was my helper. Jack was playing for Sam in the picture. He was her "helper".

Sorry it's so fuzzy, he moves a lot and I don't know how to use the camera.

I'll have to ask him to be my helper next time.

See all those hotels he was racking up? Wow. =)

SquiRe didn't win, he was too generous. Whenever someone was in a finacial crisis he would give them help, plus he would sell off his property for almost nothing. 

This picture was taken today. SquiRe is a big reader,
 but he especially likes to read aloud to someone. He was
 reading to Mom. I think he knew I was taking his picture.

And the news we have been wanting to share is that Sam recently started taking in animals from the Humane Society to care for until they are ready to adopt. Thus far she has had two cases. One was a litter of four very young kittens, and just about an hour ago we got a dog.

Because these weren't named we got to name them ourselves. Though Sam at first didn't want to because she thought we'd be to attatched, I told her we wouldn't be and I was right. I'm so glad we got to name them!

The orange cat, the runt, was the only male. We named him Kalmar after the prince of Anniera. (From Andrew Peterson's Wingfeather Saga.)

The grey female cats we named Arabella, Samara, and Houdini (the escape artist).

We weren't big fans of the name Arabella, but we thought it would get her adopted just a little quicker.

They are all three chasing and wrestling each other in this picture.

 This is the dog we just got. She unfoutunately already has a name: Lulu.

 Lulu is just here until she gets socialized. Why would they give a dog in need of socilization to a family of conservitive homeschoolers is what I want to know. *hahaha*

Well, I've bored you long enough. I'll let you go after showing you what I found this morning.

And I can't believe I didn't kill it. I saw it at 5:30 am so I guess I was too tired to think: "Maybe I should do more than just take pictures of this creepy thang."

Hope you are having a good weekend.

Momo