Breakaway Camp

Just realized I never told you we had a great weekend at Breakaway Camp. This is our group picture- the banner above is from another camp not ours. I will post more about this great weekend later! Just thought I would share the great group with us at camp!

A Relaxing Time for Me

Every chance I get here is where I go........................... my parent's pool. I love to get in the water and it is so relaxing to me. Even if I am the only person in the pool. I also like to spend time in the pool with my mom- it is our chat time.

I also like to go to a restaurant near my parent's house. It is inside Harrison Bay State Park (I worked here during a couple of summers during college- as did my two sisters). It is only a block from my parent's house. The restaurant is Dockside Cafe. Matter of fact the man who runs the restaurant and is an excellent cook is someone we grew up with - church, school and lived near us. He likes to be called "Sam" now but he will always be "Sammy" to me- can't help it.

You can check them out online at- http://www.docksidecafeonline.com/
Last night, Mike came to my parents and he and I went to eat at Dockside. Mike was happy they had there all you can eat Catfish dinner for $9.99. I loved it because I always have their Crunchy Chicken. It is made with cornflakes. I can't get the recipe out of him but thought someone here might have a recipe for chicken breasts made with cornflakes?

The cafe' is very casual- as many have come in to grab a bite from their boat. They have outdoor seating as well. Don't forget to save some bread or bring some to feed the many ducks and turtles once you leave. It is one of my favorite places. I also love their desserts. I had strawberry cream pie last night. Yummy!

Maybe sometime I will share why the ducks at the park have always been so special to me..... and continue to be very special!

Breakaway Camp

Please pray for us as our Childhood Ministries heads to Ft. Bluff in Dayton, Tennessee with a group of children and counselors for Breakaway Camp. We are excited about all fun we are going to have but also all the way God is going to impact each of us. We really appreciate your prayers!

We will be back Sunday!

Pray for FBC Shreveport

I would like to ask you to pray for a friend of mine in ministry- Ronney Joe Webb. He is on of my friends from Rec Lab (a conference I attend annually and have for about 14 or 15 years). I learn so much from him when it comes to family ministry. He was accompanying a team from his church to a youth conference and the bus had a blow out and rolled three times. One student died, everyone had some sort of injury. The associate pastor's daughter is in critical condition. Several are still hospitalized. My friend Ronney Joe has a broken bone in his neck. His daughter has a broken collar bone.

You can go to their church website - http://www.fbcshreveport.org/ for more info.
They have been keeping their website updated with as much info as possible.

Thank you in advance for praying!

The "Real" Farmer's Market and More

Today our Mom's Nurturing Mom's Group - MnM's met for a stop at Preservation Station. Our theme for our Childhood Ministries this summer is "All Aboard the FBC Express"! We normally try to theme our summer off our Vacation Bible School theme- (Boomerang Express).
Here was our description of today's meeting-
"Don't you wish you had paid better attention in your grandmother's kitchen? Ever wonder why she always had fresh veggies and fruit? Or were your favorites her homemade jellies and jams? Come learn all the secrets of how to properly store home grown (or fresh brought) foods. We'll see and hear about how the things of yesteryear are becoming the "new" thing!"

Our first stop was checking in at the church, dropping off children in childcare, sharing tips and ideas (especially frugal finds) with each other and THEN I shared we were going on a field trip. Mrs. Robin R. from the Bradley County Extension and Mrs. Kathy from there as well- took us to the Bradley County Farmer's Market off Peerless Road. We visited several vendors and were given tips and pointers on knowing the difference in types of produce- like the types of corns, beans and squash. We also were given some help on knowing when something is ripe or to know if you are getting "good" produce. It was a lot of fun. We then went shopping to the different produce stands.

THEN we went to the Cannery that is located behind the Farmer's Market. You can schedule to use this facility free of charge. When you call Mrs. Odoms will give you an appointment and ask what you would like to can (or as my grandmother called "put up" ). She will in turn tell you based on the amount of produce you have what supplies you will need. She will also tell you what you need to have prepped before hand- i.e. breaking your beans before arriving. Two reasons for this are so they can schedule more people to use the facility and because there is no air conditioning- just fans (it is hot).
The staff and volunteers at the cannery will help you know what to do if you have never done this before.

We then returned to the church and ate the yummy snacks the moms brought and heard a presentation on canning. We were also given some great gifts from the Bradley County Extension-
1. Handout on A Quick Consumer Guide to Safe Food Handling ( an incredible piece)
2. July's Newsletter on Safe Food for Tennessee (Wit, Wisdom and Practical Advice on Food Safety)
3. Canning Foods Booklet (79 page booklet w/ guides, recipes, etc.)
4. Preserving Food: Freezing and Drying (47 pages of tips, guidelines and advice)
5. Fridge / Freezer Thermometer

What a fun time!

Potatoes going into the cans - getting ready to head to the steamers!

MNM participants listening and taking notes!
Learning how to tell if a watermelon and cantaloupe is ripe.
Seeing how to "pick" a good ear of corn. I also learned a really good way to "Freeze" corn- cut the ends off the ear of corn, put corn (shuck and all) in a paper bag. Double bag the paper bag and roll up and put in the freezer. Mrs. Robin says the shuck / silk will come right off when you go to use the corn. I thought I would try it so I bought a dozen for $3 of "peaches and cream corn" . I also wanted this farmer to know we appreciated him letting us camp out at his truck bed.
Here we are learning about beans.
We had a smaller group this month but a fun group. I know this isn't for everyone but what a great time. We also had door prizes due to Resourceful Amy's ability to pick out great prizes and get a great bang for our buck. As it ended up everyone who returned for the presentation ended up with a door prize. YIPEE!

Fourth Celebration

Today Mike and I are heading to my parents for swimming and food! It will be a family celebration today with my dad, mom, and two sisters. I love to swim!

Mike and I have been talking about purchasing an ice cream maker so we are picking one up before heading to the pool.

We will be making one of my favorite homemade ice cream recipes from my Brainerd Baptist Church cookbook - church cookbooks are the best you know! Thanks to Mrs. Debbie we will be enjoying her Milky Way Ice Cream

Milky Way Ice Cream
1 pt. half and half
1 pt. whipping cream
2 cups of sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1 can Eagle Brand Milk
7 Milky Way bars
6 eggs
Beat eggs and sugar; add cream, half and half and Eagle Brand. Heat 1 cup milk with 6 to 7 Milky Ways. Add to egg mixture. Add 1 teaspoon vanilla. Pour into container. Fill container with milk.


Do you have a favorite homemade ice cream recipe? Will you please share it with me?

Happy Fourth of July! I am so thankful to live in a country where we can freely and openly worship the One True God!