I didn't think about the fact that they might meld and hence make them rather messy. So I don't suggest using any kind of chocolate candy. Yes, I know you all would have probably thought about it melting but...this is me. I don't always think everything through all the way. 
This was my second attempt at popcorn balls. They worked much better with no frills. 
We have been learning about bugs for sometime now. The girls are fascinated by them. Yesterday, we had a day in homeschooling that didn't go too well. So I decided that we needed to get out of the house and go on a bug walk. Our goal was to find a chrysalis (a butterfly cocoon). 
We didn't find any butterfly cocoons but we found a yellow jacket nest. They swarmed us and burrowed in our clothes biting and stinging Melanie. Melanie had about 10 stings and Emma got one on the back of her neck. Melanie who has struggled being overcome by fear of pain was completely overtaken. We walked beating off the bee's for more than a block when Jason arrived in his truck to whisk the kids away. I believe God allowed Melanie to face one of her greatest fears to show her that she won't die but in the midst of the trauma He is with her and can help her. She is still struggling with the emotions and fear of yesterday. So I would like to ask if you could join in prayer with me in praying that Melanie won't live her life being held captive by her fears but would allow God to show her His grace. 
This picture has nothing to do with the cassarole but I loved how her eyes seemed to jump out off of the page.
Earlier in the week the girls and I made bread. We made one special loaf of cinnamon swirl bread that we planned on making french toast with. This morning we started to make the french toast and slicing up the bread when I found that it wasn't holding together well. So we decided to improvise and make something else out of the ingredients we had. A few years ago at a church breakfast we had a casserole out of bread and eggs. So we tried to make it. We just cut up the bread into smaller pieces, added eggs, cinnamon, salt, a little sugar and baked it forever. We were all pleasantly surprised that it turned out tasty.
I pulled down the curtains in our dining room to wash them, it was way overdue. I also needed to mend them because they were about an inch too long. I made a mistake and hemmed them up 4 inches which looked ridiculous. So I had to trade the curtains for a set in the living room that hang behind a couch and won't show how short they are. Now I have to wash, iron, and hem a second set of curtains. Ahh, I am always making more work for myself. It is a good thing because I realized that Mel and Meg hadn't really ever ironed before and they need to know how in their sewing so they helped me iron the first set of curtains.
This is another random picture that I loved and wanted to share with you.
We had our normal sewing day with Nana today instead of Friday because Melanie will be spending all weekend with Jason's parents. She will be going to their house tomorrow and we were trying to fit in all the fun stuff we could do before she left. 
Rick is borrowing a motorcycle from a friend for a while. The little ones were excited to sit on it on Sunday. The big girls were thrilled to get a ride.
Today we went to Bird Fest with a young lady from church. These are a sampling of the pictures I took. In the picture above you are looking at sea otters sun bathing.
This is a true sign of the end of summer's bounty.
This oak tree is thought to have been around when Lewis and Clark explored this area. It took 8 kids holding hands to wrap around the tree. It is truly magnificent.
Jason is helping me get ready for our care group to come over. 
I tried taking all the kids pictures in the same spot today. But Buddy wasn't in the mood to get his picture taken. He started taking off when the first flash hit.
This is a picture of some of the bread I made this morning. I also made a batch of sticky buns but they went faster than I could take a picture. 
This picture was taken when Buddy was trying to hide from nap time.
Here we have Melanie playing on the computer in the background, her favorite hobby and Emma is in make believe land. Perry Mason is also in the background, this is my favorite afternoon hobby, hehe.
These are pictures of Melanie and Megan's homework assignments on Christopher Columbus. If you click on the photo's you will be able to see them larger. They are very cute. 
