Meet our new family member

It started with just Kelby in one house, and Kristin in another.

Kristin added Skipper.

Kristin and Skipper added Kelby.

Kelby, Kristin, and Skipper added.... Sophie!

Sophie is a 4 month old Schnauser, weighing around 2 pounds for now. We are not sure if she is a Miniature or Standard. A friend of a friend bought/rescued her from a pet store. Our friend asked if we wanted a puppy, and how could we say no to this adorable face?



She met parts of what we were wanting in a second dog - non-shedding, female, and someone who Skipper will tolerate. Skipper is doing well so far, he even allowed her in his bed once. Can you just imagine what is going through his mind in this picture "fine, I will let her be here for a minute, but come-on, really? Do I have to?" Other times, she is playing with all his (now to be their) toys, as he sleeps on his blanket on the couch.

I, Kristin, was folding laundry this afternoon. Sophie decided to help, by climbing into a pair of pants. 

She is definitely in the chewing phase. Sophie will put everything and anything in her mouth. We are working on her just chewing appropriate things like toys, and not her leash. Sophie plays hard, and then sleeps soundly. Sometimes she is so tired we can move her and she doesn't wake up. She has learned in just a few days to go up and down the stairs to our place. We are practicing the command "sit" and her name.

AWANA

Wednesday evenings, I (Kristin) volunteer at my church. Our curriculum is AWANA [you can clink on the link for the webpage] - Approved Workmen Are Not Ashamed. We have kids 3 years through middle school. I choose to work with the 3,4 and pre-kindergarden five-year-olds. We are called Cubbies, and we form great friendships with the kids! Last week, we passed out to our first year Cubbies their vests and bags and books - they were super excited to show their parents.

Our goal is to help children memorize bible verses, and to learn about God and The Bible. We sing songs, have a puppet (my portion!!!!), read stories, memorize bible verses, craft, and snack time. Lots of fun!

This week's memory verse is "God created the heavens and the earth" Genesis 1:1.

We love to read

At the beginning of Labor Day Weekend, I went to the library to check out a few books. Well, me and the library get along very well. Because instead of finding just a couple of books, I came away with 8. EIGHT!!!And now, a week and a half later, they are all finished, and enjoyed.

Four of the books were by Janette Oke, A Prairie Legacy. These are Christian Fiction, set around 100 years ago. I love this time period, where there was not a dependence on technology and life was part of nature, not separated.

Two books were on foster care children. I work with a lot of foster kids in my job, so I purposely looked for books to broaden my understanding of their circumstances.  Hope's Boy by Andrew Bridge is a non-fiction book. So very powerful and an intimate true story. I didn't want the story to end. The next book was Between Sundays by Karen Kingsbury. This is a fiction book; however the emotions that course the book are real.

Now on to Autism, and the struggles families go through. Not My Boy! by Rodney Peete is another non-fiction book. This was an interesting, and unique perspective of raising a child on the Autism Spectrum. Rodney Peete was an NFL member. Reading how he tried to balance his job with his child was helpful. A Child's Journey Out Of Autism by Leeann Whiffen, a non-fiction book, described the lengths parents will travel in order to help their children. There was a large emphasis on ABA therapy, and the possible link between vaccines and Autism. However, research has shown there is no causal link. Still a good book written from a parent's perspective, along with the stress a diagnosis places on a family.

What's next, you ask? Wait and see :)

Dried Strawberries

So I absolutely love my food dehydrator. Every few days, I have used it again, since I eat the fruit so fast. Here is how I made dried strawberries. Almost like eating candy!

I started with 2 pounds of fresh strawberries. Clean the strawberries.

 Cut off the green tops, and slice very thin. Lay the strawberries in a single layer on each tray.

Cook at 135-140 degrees F, for 6-8 hours. The time probably depends on how hot and humid it is outside. The strawberries are done when you break a piece and it is dry throughout. The 2 pounds of fresh fruit turned into 3.5 ounces of dried fruit. It looks like a lot of work, but the deliciousness is worth it.