Adventures of The Mouse House Crew

Saturday, September 15, 2012

We need a strong leader to protect us overseas. This would not be happening if we did.

Friday, September 14, 2012

9/14/12 Bible Verse

September 14

The heavens, even the heavens, are the Lord's: but the earth hath he given to the children of men.

Joey tossed his candy paper on the playground. Patty ran over from where she was playing with her friends, and said, "You pick that up!"

"I don't have too. Who made you boss?"

"It's not nice to throw trash on the ground."

"It's okay. I learned in Sunday school that God gave the earth to us, and we can do anything we want to with it."

Indeed, God had given the world into our hands, but His deepest hope is that we will care for it and protect it. Like careless children, we allow the earth to be mistreated. Like a fragile toy, the earth will be damaged beyond repair. What we will do then, God only knows, but for now we must learn to treat God's creation as God Himself would. Otherwise, how will He ever trust us to share eternity with Him in heaven?

Prayer: Do no let me be careless with Your creation, Lord. I love the beauty of this world, but I am not always quick to protect it. Help me to value our planet more dearly. Amen

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Wednesday, September 12, 2012

Strawberries ‘n Cream Stuffed French Toast

Strawberries 'n Cream Stuffed French Toast
Prep Time
Cook Time Servings 1 Difficulty Easy

Ingredients
¼ cups Fat-free Liquid Egg Substitute
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
⅛ teaspoons Salt
2 slices Light Bread
1 wedge The Laughing Cow Smooth Sensations Cream Cheese Spread Strawberries & Cream 1/3 Less Fat
½ cups Sliced Strawberries
2 teaspoons Light Whipped Butter Or Light Buttery Spread
1 teaspoon Powdered Sugar
Preparation Instructions
In a wide bowl, mix egg substitute, vanilla extract, and salt.
Lay bread slices flat and spread with cheese. Top one slice with half of the strawberries followed by the other bread slice, cheese side down. Press lightly to seal.
Bring a skillet sprayed with nonstick spray to medium-high heat. Add butter and let it coat the bottom.
Meanwhile, coat sandwich on all sides with egg mixture. Cook in the skillet until golden brown, 2 to 3 minutes per side.
Serve topped with powdered sugar and remaining strawberries!

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Apple Empanadas

Wake Up the Big Apple

Empanadas

Prep Time

Cook Time Servings 6 Difficulty Easy

Ingredients

1-½ Tablespoon Granulated Sugar (or Granulated No-calorie Sweetener)

½ Tablespoons Cornstarch

⅓ cups Cold Water

1-½ cup Peeled And Chopped Fuji Apples (1-2 Apples)

3 wedges The Laughing Cow Smooth Sensations Cream Cheese Spread Cinnamon Cream 1/3 Less Fat

1 package Refrigerated Seamless Dough Sheet (or Reduced-fat Crescent Roll Dough)

Preparation Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick spray.

In a medium nonstick pot on the stove, combine sugar, cornstarch, and 1/3 cup cold water. Add apples and stir well. Bring to medium-high heat and, stirring frequently, cook until sauce has thickened and apples have partially softened, about 6 minutes.

Remove pot from heat and let cool slightly. Thoroughly mix in cheese, until melted. Allow to cool completely.

Roll out dough into a large rectangle of even thickness. Cut lengthwise into two even pieces. Cut each piece widthwise into thirds, leaving you with 6 rectangular pieces of dough. Stretch or roll out each rectangle a bit. Evenly distribute apple mixture among the centers of dough.

Arrange one of the pieces of dough so that the shorter sides are on the right and left. Fold and stretch the lower left corner to meet the upper right corner. Press edges firmly to enclose the mixture. Press edges with fork to crimp and seal. Transfer to the baking sheet and repeat with remaining ingredients.

Bake until dough is golden brown, about 12 minutes. Allow to cool slightly and enjoy!

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Tired

September 12

Today's Readings: Proverbs 13-15; 2 Corinthians 5

Today's Thoughts: A Slow Day

He who is slowto wrath has great understanding, But he who is impulsive exalts folly. Proverbs 14:29

Have you ever had one of those days where you started out groggy, as if in slow motion? I woke up tired this morning. As I sat in my chair and began to read my online Bible, I was even more tired. Coffee did not help. I felt like I was swimming against the current. My insides were trying but my reflexes were not responding. I was having a hard time comprehending and focusing on what I was reading. Even my prayers were challenging, as my mind kept wandering. The day seemed to flow with the same kind of beat. Traffic seemed extra slow and congested. Red lights were longer than normal. And my computer…the little hour glass icon next to the cursor became a great nuisance as I tried to double click through files and pages. My irritation and frustration grew at top speed while everything else around me crawled at a snail's pace. As my day is fast coming to a close, I am still tired and still in slow motion. What does the Lord want me to learn from this kind of day?

Several verses in the Bible include the word "slow," but are often followed by the words "to anger." Why? Because we tend to get angry very quickly. Also, when we act on impulse, we usually act foolishly. The more anxious we get at times, the more likely we are to behave rashly. The end result is not good, not to mention who gets hurt in the middle. We must learn the self-control to be "slow to wrath" and slow to anger. We must learn to recognize the triggers in our environment and circumstances that tempt us to lose control and react in the heat of the moment. For me and my day, the Lord reminded me of these lessons.

Since I woke up in slow motion, He meant for me to go with His flow, not mine. Today, God wanted me to slow down, sit longer at lights, and even wait on my computer to respond. Instead of impulsively getting upset, He wanted me to think about Him during those moments, talk to Him and let Him talk back. Instead of talking to the Lord, I was wondering just when that red light was going to turn green.

Today, and any day, when you are sitting in traffic, at a long light or waiting for service somewhere, stop and talk to the Lord. God has set your day in motion for His purposes. It is okay to go slow, especially when circumstances pull at our emotions. If you go with His flow and follow His tempo, you will end your day with peace and joy, instead of regrets and fatigue.

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Daily verse 9/12

Health Hazard

"Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you… forgive him." —Luke 17:3 (NKJV)

Forgiveness isn't optional in the Christian life. Regardless of what's done to us, our responsibility is always to forgive.

Even as we read this, there's something deep within our soul that wants to resist."I understand God wants me to forgive people, and for the most part I do. But surely He doesn't expect me to forgive so-and-so."

If we're completely honest, some things just seem too far over the line to be forgiven. And yet, God consistently calls us to forgive, no matter what. Why is that? Why doesn't God categorize certain things as being unforgivable, the way we tend to?

Part of the reason is because He understands we do a lot of damage to ourselves when we don't forgive. When we adopt an unforgiving attitude, it inevitably turns into bitterness and resentment. Someone once remarked, "Bitterness in the believer is like a bullet in the body."

There's a lot of truth to that. It becomes poisonous to our spiritual system, and forgiveness is the only way to flush it out and be free from it.

The Lord's command to forgive is also a warning against not forgiving. He loves us dearly, and wants only what's best for us. And what's best for us is a heart that's free and clear of the bitterness that corrodes our soul.

So if you haven't forgiven someone for something he or she has done to you, forgive the person today. Regardless of the circumstances. Remember, if you fail to forgive, you're hurting yourself. Anything short of forgiveness is hazardous to your spiritual health.

Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. Colossians 3:13 (NKJV)

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Tuesday, September 11, 2012

Ebooks

From Kim Komodo:

E-book prices could fall!

Several major publishers admitted to illegally fixing e-book prices and will bring prices back down.

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Day of Remembrance 9/11

What is truly sad is that there is hardly a mention at my kids schools. I was a basket case that day. Guido was 3 months old and I was a freakin zombie because he had colic during that time. I had finally got him to sleep after being up with him for hours. I was having construction done in my house and didn't even hear them start working, that is how zonked out I was. My sister and husband kept calling and calling me. I finally woke up and answered the stupid phone. My husband relayed the horrible news. I turned on the TV and saw the 2nd tower get hit. I didn't know what to do. I saw the bottom scroll later that parents could not pick up their kids from school due to there may be chaos, so I waited all day for my babies to get home. I met each one at the bus stop and just hugged and hugged them. I found out later that the school district was releasing the kids, and that I could have gone to get them. I wish I had followed my heart to do that. I just sat and cried with them. I will never forget it.

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Tuesday Mayhem

So.....went to pick my son up today for his dental appt and they couldn't locate him. I can not tell you how freakin scared I was. My heart dropped and I wanted to fall to my knees. Needless to say all I did was put a smile on my face and prayed and prayed. They found him after 15 excruciating minutes. He had just started tutorials in math today and that is why he wasn't where he needed to be. ACK! He is fine and I am ever so grateful. Thank you so much Lord for calming my heart during the search. I really really had to hold myself back before I unleashed mad momma on them.

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Sunday, September 9, 2012

Careful/Assertive mother

From the Smockity Frocks blog:

Careful Mother vs. Assertive Mother

Posted: 08 Sep 2012 03:17 PM PDT

When I taught 4th grade in public school, back in the 1900′s, I had a student who was absent from school at least once a week. He had a hard time keeping up with assignments, so I scheduled a meeting with him and his mother. She revealed to me in the meeting that he was absent so often because there were days she just couldn't convince him to get up and get in the car to get to school, so she really had no choice except to let him stay home.

I was shocked. She couldn't convince him to get up? We're talking about a 10 year old here. I silently wondered what she had in store when he became a teenager.

I turned to "Jared" in the meeting. "Do you want to pass 4th grade this year? Or do you want to repeat it next year while all your friends go on to 5th grade? You are a smart boy, but you can not continue to miss school each week and get all of your work done."

He assured me that he wanted to pass, so I felt like we had reached an understanding and hopefully an end to the problem.

Surprisingly, though, he was not at school bright and early the next morning. Around 9:30 his mother knocked at my classroom door and this conversation followed:

Mother: "I was able to talk Jared into getting up and dressed and in the car, but when we got to the parking lot he refused to get out."
Me: (astounded)
Mother: "I don't know how to convince him to get out of the car. What should I do?"
Me: "Class, everyone write your spelling words 3 times each. I will be right back." (walks out to parking lot with a confident stride.)
Mom: (opens car door timidly) "Jared? Do you remember that Mother has to go to work today? Do you want Mother to be late for work again? Don't you want to go to school? Won't you please get out of the car, Jared?"
Jared: (arms crossed, unmoved)
Me: (eyebrows raised, leaning in, assertively) "Jared, get out of this car. Now. You still have time to practice your spelling words before the test. Now, get going and quit wasting our time!"
Jared: (gets out of car and goes to school)

Since that interaction 18 or so years ago, I have noticed that it is quite fashionable for mothers to persuade, cajole, beg, and ask their children very politely if they won't pretty please obey them.

Sometimes this is called "picking your battles" or "modeling good choices".

Mothers, I am giving you permission today and from hence forth to tell, not beg, your children what to do, without apology.

You do not need to be Careful Mother, in order to preserve your child's delicate feelings or self esteem. You can be Assertive Mother, created by God to be in charge of your child's safety and well being, and still be a warm, sensitive, loving mother with a confident, secure child.

I have seen similar scenarios played out time after time, and I wonder if the mother knows that she is making her life more difficult than it has to be and that she is not doing her child any great favors by bestowing upon him power that he isn't ready to wield.

Here is another true story of a conversation I witnessed while standing in the crowded aisle of a movie theater waiting for a Careful Mother to convince her 3 year old to move from the aisle seat so she could sit by the baby in the infant carrier. I have included the dialogue an Assertive Mother would have used.

Now, I can already envision the emails I will receive from those of you thinking, "That Smockity is so insensitive! She doesn't understand that my child has OCD/ADD/ODD/ADHD/INSERTLETTERSHERE!"

What you may or may not know, and I'm sure that most of you don't, is that I have some of my very own children with some of their very own letters. I still manage to state what I want them to do and have them obey it in as few words as necessary.

I also tuck them in at night, read stories to them, smother them with kisses, hold them in my lap, hold their hands while taking walks, laugh with them, and hug them 27 times each day.

Being Assertive Mother doesn't have to mean you are less loving than Careful Mother. It means you are confident in your role of authority and you are not afraid to tell your child what to do.

Mothers, do yourselves and your children a favor. Stop being Careful Mother. Be Assertive Mother and show your children what confident leadership looks like.

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Adorable cats

From Technabob blog:

Artist Turns Geeky Characters into Fat Cats

Posted: 08 Sep 2012 11:45 AM PDT

Etsy is a great place to find wonderful handmade crafts, and every once in a while I come across something I can honestly say I've not seen before. What we have here is some of our favorite sci-fi, movie and video game characters – all transformed into fat cats by Kathleen over at Fat Cat Crafts.

boba fett fat catt

Oh, and these aren't just any overweight felines, no. The cats of Fat Cat Crafts all function as pincushions, so if you're into sewing, you can keep your spare needles and pins in them. (Or if you just want to put a voodoo curse on your cat.) My favorite has to be the highly-detailed Boba Fett fat cat (Boba Fatt?), complete with jet pack, though I do like the sound of "Shat Fat Cat" rolling off of my tongue too…

captain kirk fat cat

Among Kathleen's other handmade creations are Han Solo, Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Mario, Luigi, Doctor Who, Obi Wan Kenobi and Indiana Jones (complete with pipe-cleaner whip) – all in fat cat form.