Get Your 12-Year-Old To Make Supper!

Kidlet Three and his friend, Daniel, were bored.

So I put them to work making their own supper.

Each boy was given a pizza dough packet.

I didn't get a photo of them mixing the dough with water, but it was uneventful.

While the dough was setting/rising, I had them assemble

the ingredients for the rest of the pizza.

Sauce, ground beef, pepperoni and cheese

Stretching the dough was the beginning of the fun.

Each boy shaped their pizza and then spread on the sauce

Daniel added pepperoni to his pizza

Kidlet Three made a ground beef and cheese pizza.

The masterpieces are ready for the oven.

Baked at 425 degrees for about 12-15 minutes.

While the pizzas were baking, clean up of the workspace

AND "texting"

Delightful pizza, ready to be enjoyed!

Do you have any young chefs in your family?

Get them involved!

Have them make your supper!

Palm Branches

Vacationing in an area where palm trees are ample, I had a God Nudge.  Sitting outside our condo breathing deeply of the fresh air and admiring the beautiful scenery, the Nudge came:

"Look at the palm branches."

There are tall and short palm trees.

My God Nudge intrigued me so I went in for a closer look.

I love God Nudges.  Because I can Nudge God back.

"OK....I saw the palms.

What was I REALLY suppose to see?"

The God Nudge back to me was this:

The Triumphal Entry

12The next day the great crowd that had come for the Feast heard that Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem. 13They took palm branches and went out to meet him, shouting,

"Hosanna!"

"Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!"

"Blessed is the King of Israel!"

My Lord and Savior, Jesus, was honored by the crowds
as they waved palm branches shouting their praises at Him.
Looking again at those palm branches in my vacation spot, I got goose bumps.
How do I honor my Lord?
Do I bless His Name?
Do I acknowledge who He really is?

I know it is Easter weekend and Palm Sunday was last week.
Yet I think for many of us, we haven't gotten to the point
of even acknowleding who Jesus was.  Do you know the
Story of Jesus dying on the cross?  You probably have heard
that Story.  But did you know that a week before He died,
the very same people praised and honored Him with
palm branches.  They shouted praises, took off their
cloaks and covered the ground so He wouldn't walk on dirt.

So much can happen in a week.  They forgot that He was Truth
and the next weekend chanted to kill Him.

How about you? 

Do you honor Him on holidays and ignore Him the rest of the year?

Jesus, I want to honor You every minute that I am alive.  Every
breath that I take I want it to fill my body with life so that I may
glorify You.

Thank you, God, for the palm branches.  Thank you for the Nudge
You gave me to really look at them.  They are beautiful.
They were a tool used to worship You in Person.

It is You that I choose worship.

Hosanna!
Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!
Blessed is the King of Kings and Lord of Lords!

An Amazing Day

Kidlet Two made it to Sarasota last night.  Today he and Kidlet Three played football while standing in the Gulf of Mexico, sat in the hot tub for awhile and here, warmed up under the sun.  Are you wondering about the wind?  Thankfully, I can report the wind was a lot less today.  There were people at the beach with sweatshirts and those of us in our bathing suits.  It was really still "cool."

We did go on a little sightseeing adventure (actually Kidlet Two needed a hat so we went shopping).  We got lost (did I mention the love/hate relationship with the TomTom GPS system).  But while stopped at a stop sign in the residential area we were driving through, here was this tree.  I wish I would've zoomed more because these fruit are oblong.  My picture doesn't do it justice but I found them "amazing".

Kidlet Two played hockey with "Schmoid". I think that was the nickname his family gave him. Well, Schmoid's family is vacationing two miles from us! Amazing! We drove up to their "section" of the beach and spent a late afternoon with them. Here the "guys" are planning a beach football game.

Speaking of amazing....no one got hurt.  The teams were divided by the "Old Boys" and the "Young Boys". 

The Women had fun chatting and admiring the Gulf.

Schmoid's family rented this three-wheeled gas-powered mini car. Here their oldest son is taking Kidlet Two for a ride. Kidlet Two later took the cart through the town. I think he enjoyed the waves and greetings the young women gave him as he drove the streets of Siesta Key Village.

Schmoid and Kidlet Three dreamed about driving this out of the driveway...

Amazing. I couldn't get one NICE photo of these boys.

Everytime a camera came out at least one of them made a face!

The Husband and my two boy Kidlets sitting together. Schmoid's older brother in the background.

I opted to not take a picture of Kidlet Two's sunburn.

He doesn't need a visual of how many times

we reminded him to put on sunscreen...He'll be "feeling" the reminder!

Yes, it was an amazing day.

I love that friends we made during the hockey season can

remain our friends after the season.

Amazing relationships!

Word Picture from the Beach

Wind.
We can hear you even before we look out the window.
Wind.
You are very strong.
Wind.
The sun is shining but you bring the temperature way down.
Wind.
Everyone is talking about you today.
Wind.
You kept us from the beach but not from the pool.
Wind.
Goosebumps on my skin as I lay by the pool.
Wind.
You made Kidlet Two's plane get here faster.
Wind.
How am I suppose to do my hair on days like today?
Wind.
The beautiful palms swaying and this isn't even a hurricane.
Wind.
We found the fun, local pizza place running to stay warm.
Wind.
Will you sleep tomorrow and let us play outside.
Please!

10 Things to Do When It Rains on Vacation

10.  Move out of the hotel into a condo right by the beach. 

9.  Walk on Siesta Key Beach when no one else is there. This was before the lightening!

8.  Drum roll please...I read and finished one of the fattest books ever (I read one book per year).

7.  Enjoy less traffic on the roads because of the rain.

6.  Confess my love-hate relationship with The Husband's GPS "Tom" isn't getting any better.

5.  Bought more groceries than we needed but it was FUN! 

4.  Allow Kidlet Three to think he is still young enough to "fit".

3.  Made a delightful meal in the full condo kitchen.

2.  "Caught" Kidlet Three actually reading a book!

1.  Watch a Netflix movie on the laptop...all three of us!

It was a good day despite the grumpies that tried to set in.

I am SO praying for the sun to come out tomorrow.

Stay tuned! 

A Snapshot of our Day