How to Make Inside Out S'mores

We have just returned from a week at my mom's house. While we were there we celebrated my mom's birthday with a campfire. Due to one item, this campfire was one to remember. Knowing how crazy my mom is about marshmallows, we just knew we had to buy her these:






Now these may look in the photo like just a regular bag of marshmallows but they are not, here is a photo to show you the comparison of a regular marshmallow to these babies.





Let me tell you, these are huge! The kids had to use two hands to eat them and what a mess.
We did come across one problem with them. They are too big for the crackers for making S'mores. So we got creative and made Inside-Out S'mores. We made a hole in the marshmallow (not all the way through) and put the crackers and the chocolate right inside the marshmallow, then roasted them. Spur of the moment creativity....genius!

These should be illegal. Due to the chocolate being heated while the marshmallow is roasting, these were ridiculously gooey and delicious. They were definitely a hit with the kids (and the adults). So if you see these super sized marshmallows in the store be sure to pick them up for some added "wow" value at your next campfire. And be sure to have a hose ready for hosing down the sticky kids.

New Project For My Family: To Help Those Fighting Leukemia

It has been awhile since I put anything on my blog. I have sat at my computer a few times trying to write and the words just would not come. Even the last post I did for Pink Saturday I had to force myself to do. See, In April my Nana went home to be with the Lord, and I was out of state for about a month spending time with my family. I could have written while I was out of state but as I said before, the words just would not come. I wrote about my Nana back in March, here is a link if you would like to read it. My Nana was an amazing lady and I will miss her all my days and my children (one who just turned 17) are incredibly fortunate to have had their Great-Grandmother as a regular part of their life, oh how blessed we have been. I mentioned back in March that part of the legacy my Nana left was a legacy of hope, more specifically, hope for Glory. As a symbol of that hope, her family, almost 30 of us, wore bright yellow to her funeral, it was a sight to behold.

A while after we arrived home from being out of state and doing the funeral, my daughter asked me if there was anything we could do to help people who were fighting Leukemia, like Nana died from. My daughter is 13, she loves crafting and creating (gee I wonder where she gets that?), she loves planning and organizing, and she loves blogging (she has her own crafting blog here). So, here is what she came up with to honor Nana's memory: She started a ministry called "Ellen's Hope" and a blog for you all to follow the progress of her projects. She wants to do ongoing projects to help those fighting leukemia, but she wants the projects to be able to change. For example; right now, for her first project, she has a goal of putting together 50 gift baskets for Leukemia patients (25 for adults, 25 for children), to be delivered to the cancer floors of local hospitals. However, once that project is completed, she wants to have the flexibility to do something different, maybe a yard sale to send money for leukemia research, maybe a bake sale, etc. So, on her blog you can follow all of the details of what we are currently doing. I say "we" because "we", the whole family, are helping with these projects.

We will be adding to the "Ellen's Hope" blog regularly so please check back often. If you would like to participate in any way, please get in touch with us through the contact information either on this blog or the "Ellen's Hope" blog. If you would like to participate, we are currently looking for donations for the baskets. Attention crafters: This may be a great way to get your items into people's hands. We don't mind if your labels include your contact information.

Faith for Today, Hope for Tomorrow

I was traveling recently to visit my Grandmother who is fighting leukemia at 83 years of age. As I was driving, I was listening to a recording of a friend of ours, he had given a talk on the subject of hope. It seems when hope is mentioned in scripture is it referring to things in the future. But when faith is mentioned it is referring to things of the present.

2 Corinthians 5:7
"For we walk by faith and not by sight."

2 Timothy 4:7
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith."

His talk got me thinking about my Grandmother, my Great-Grandmother and my Mother.
My Great-Grandmother was a Swedish immigrant who after moving to America as a young woman, never returned to her homeland. She never saw her mother or most of her family again. Times were so different then with no telephones, email, facetime, skype or webcams and communication was done primarily through letter writing. My family has many of the letters which my Great-Grandmother wrote home to Sweden and they have been translated from Swedish. In those letters is expressed the heartbreak of homesickness and longing. Buried in one of those letters is one line which still resounds in my heart many years after first reading them. I am paraphrasing that line here because I would have to go through every letter to find the exact line but it says something like this "if not for the hope of Glory, I would not be able to endure the heartache of missing you all".
While listening to the audio of our friend speaking it struck me that the legacy my Great-Grandmother, my Grandmother and my Mother have tried to instill in us all, is a legacy of faith and hope. They have instilled in us a faith in God, a faith which helps get us through today and the trials of life. But in addition to faith they have tried to point us towards hope, hope for Eternity, hope for Glory, hope for tomorrow. What a beautiful legacy to leave for those you love. In the end, isn't what really matters knowing that your loved ones know the Lord and Savior Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior? I know it is for me. I only hope I can leave a legacy of faith and hope for my children. I am so grateful that three incredible ladies loved me enough to pass on that legacy to me. Thank you Ma, I can't wait to meet you in Glory, and Thank you Nana and Thank you Mom. I love you with all my heart.

Pink Saturday - Valentines Day

Last week, when I was uploading pictures from my camera for Pink Saturday, I came across a photo and knew it had to be the next Pink Saturday picture. This is my daughter at a recent church sledding party. It's funny how on the day of the sledding party, I hadn't even noticed all the pink but when I saw the picture it was all I could see. How's that for Pink, one of my little valentines in all her pretty pink.
Happy Pink Saturday!
Happy Valentines Day!

I've Been Busy With This

We are home now after being away with family for the holidays. We had a wonderful holiday but it is always nice to return home. If you are wondering what I have been so busy doing that I have had no time to give to my blog well here is what has been taking all my time.
We found this great dollhouse on Craigslist for our girls for Christmas. It was a fraction of the original price and was brand new in the box. When we began putting it together we realized that one of the 24 sheets of wooden punched pieces was missing. In fairness to the people I purchased it from, I do think it was missing originally from the factory. In a panic, thinking I had wasted my money, I looked for the address of the company to call and see if I could purchase just one sheet. Well let me tell you, God is good because it turns out the factory is only 1 hour from us and when I called they said the sheet of parts was only $6.00. Then, when giving me directions, they tell me to watch for the sign that says "craft factory outlet". So was this my lucky day or what, only $6.00 AND I get to pick it up at a "craft factory outlet". Well that was all my kids and I had to hear, so off we went. After purchasing our sheet of parts, and of course many other items which we "had" to have, we came home to put together our dollhouse. So that is where I have been. As you can see from the photos, we are not done with it. Actually we have a long way to go but we are having soooo much fun.

Does anyone own this cat?

This is my daughter holding the latest addition to our family (I supose), who has been affectionately named "Lily". She seems to have been dropped off by someone who found our rural road and knew my daughter would love her to pieces. She is very sweet and after all...what's one more?