Jul

09

Catch Up

lets just consider today’s post to be a little game of catch-up, why don’t we?
i’m gonna be backtracking, so sit back, relax, and enjoy the randomness!
here’s a side by side comparison of the first day of school and the last day of school.  a little taller, no more curls, and a new tooth, but beyond that, there doesn’t seem to be that drastic of a change.  or am i in denial??
all you room moms out there, you can pocket this one for next year since i didn’t get a chance to post about it in time for this year.  but for each of the crazies’ teachers, we’ve put together a little book from the whole class.
UPDATE 05.16.13:
to see details and tutorial for this book, as well as downloadable templates, see here.

i sent home a fill in the blank worksheet with questions that the kids had to answer themselves, and enclosed a blank piece of card stock so they could each draw a picture of their teacher.  each worksheet also had a picture of the child.

UPDATE:  05.29.13:
you can see a full post on the teacher book, as well as download all of the templates, here:  http://asmallsnippet.com/2013/05/end-of-the-year-teacher-book.html 

the answers are priceless.  i especially like Bella’s response to the first question:

once each student sent in the completed worksheets and drawings, i brought the pile into Fed Ex and they bound it into a book.  i think if i were a teacher, it would give me quite the chuckle and then i think i would treasure it for years to come!

we closed out the school year with an abundance of end of the year parties:

and a vocabulary parade, that i think is the grandest idea, and if i’m ever a teacher (someday i think i’d really enjoy being one) i would do this very thing:

Jake and i headed out of town for a bit, and had to miss the Bug’s end of the year dance performance.  but she didn’t seem to mind too much!  afterall, she got to have a cookie after class, and she talked about that very thing for weeks beforehand!

her grandfather was in charge while we were gone, and he did her hair for dance class.  i think its down right adorable with her flowing locks and that bow just stuck on the side of her head!

while she was enjoying her celebratory cookie and sporting a new hair style, the hubs and i were hittin’ up:

with this group of peeps:

a dear college friend of Jake’s was getting married, and the whole crew reunited for a weekend of reminiscing and family updates, with some dancing and laughs along the way.  he has maintained the greatest friendships from his years at Washington and Lee University and as soon as we are all together again its like no time has passed!

the guys were all teammates on the W&L football team, and a weekend together without some sort of sporting event just isn’t really a weekend.  so we hit up the batting cages at the Louisville Slugger museum, and as you can tell by the faces, the fierceness and determination of these “athletes” hasn’t faded one bit over the years :)

we really had a ball, and the weekend went by way too fast!
the photo booth at the wedding made for an entertaining night!
not too much later, we returned home, and a few tropical storms, almost hurricanes, came swooping into our coast.  we walked away almost unscathed, all but for a flooded porch.  living on the beach has made me hyper aware of the danger of hurricanes, but it sure is a darn fun place to watch a storm!
the rain did a number on our garden.  oh who am i kidding??  the rain isn’t the problem with my garden.  i think the gardeners, or lack thereof, are really the problem!  but after some hard work and a little TLC, she was back to her normal self:
 and even in her neglect, produced a lovely little summer harvest!
if you haven’t checked out the 3Cords website yet, then here’s just a little teaser.  we brought back lots of products from Haiti to sell online, and the Bug got to model a few for the website.
i kinda think she looks like a teenager in these pics.  i might be in trouble…
we bought a new devotional for the kids and its just about the most adorable thing ever.  the cover makes me swoon.  and the contents are just as amazing!  if you are looking for a good one, i highly suggest this Jesus Calling: 365 Devotions For Kids:
Lord knows we need to be reminded of Jesus’ love constantly around our parts.  seems like summer has gotten the best of us, and close living quarters mixed with high energy children has made my crazies drive me crazy!!  and my responses are far less than patient.  glad that Jesus is calling all our hearts to remember what is true!
the 4th of July snuck up on us, but thankfully i had some leftover decor from Canaan’s bday party that was just right for the celebration!
we spent the day with some of our most favorite people on the planet:
and the kids were thrilled to get to stay on the beach from sun up to well past sun down.
it was a perfect surf day for little groms, cause the waves rolled in right into the shallow waters of a sandbar:
and the kids took full advantage:
the Bug isn’t so sure about surfing for real yet, but she was willing to get a little help from her big bro:
as soon as it got a little dark, we busted out the fireworks:
 and the show began:
not sure what this face is all about, but i think the long day of sunshine made us all a little crazy and silly by the end of the day:
what’s a beach day without sandy braids???
FYI:  she cried of sheer exhaustion her entire bathtime later that night as i worked overtime to wash all that sand out.
our beach town decided to cancel their big fireworks show this year, saying it was too expensive.  in all my years of living here, that has never happened!  but it didn’t really matter, cause there was no way that our community was gonna let the night go by uncelebrated!
 and the individual shows were almost more spectacular than the main one:
 and i’ll leave you with this.  i saw this idea, and loved it, so we did our own.  we are, as we speak, in the process of checking off a number of these items!  so check back in for all the details!
the iPhone is just way too easy to whip out for quick photos, so some of these are compliments of Instagram.  if you care to follow, my user name is leanak.

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Jun

21

Clean Eating Key Lime Pie

with it being summer and all, i figured it was time for a good Clean Eating summer recipe!
the ingredients in this Key Lime Pie will surprise you.  the main ingredient for the filling is….avocados!  i had my doubts at first.  but trust me…it is divine!  (and i don’t even really like avocados!!)  i made this for a group of friends, and had them try it before telling them what was in it.  none of them had a clue that avocados were used!  and they all finished every single bite!
what you’ll need for the crust:

(i used my food processor to grind whole almonds until very fine)

for the filling:
(i think i ended up using 3 avocados, but depending on the size, you might need more)

a note about the key lime juice.  if you have access to fresh key limes, use fresh juice.  i happened to have this juice in my fridge, so i used it.  but it does have ingredients in it that would not classify it as Clean Eating.  at the time i was still making my way through some leftover items in my fridge that i hadn’t thrown out, and since i wasn’t totally sure of this recipe yet, i decided to use it.  but if you truly want this to be a Clean Eating recipe, squeeze your own key limes or find some bottled juice that does not have preservatives in it.

to make the crust:

as for pans, you can use a regular pie pan, individual muffin tins or Mini Tart Pans like these:

i found these Mini Tart Pans a few years ago and love using them for individual pies.

for the filling:
melt your coconut oil first, then:

taste for sweetness and tartness and add more honey or lime juice until its the way you like it.

freeze for 1-2 hours.  the filling will firm up, like the consistency of ice cream.  let thaw out for 5 minutes before serving.  you can also refrigerate, but the filling is more like pudding if you do that.  i think its better to keep them frozen and then let them thaw just a few minutes before digging in.

i also piped some honey whipped creamon the edges right before serving:

top with a berry and you have the perfect summer dessert!

here’s the recipe card for you:

let me know what you think!

9 Comments

Jun

07

: Haiti :

i’m wondering if you all thought i had stayed in Haiti!  i know its been a long while.  funny how life changes.  do you ever have those seasons where things are put into perspective?  i’m in one right now.  and blogging has seemed to become less important lately.

but i do miss you all.  and i think some of you might be anxious to see pictures from Haiti, or at least know that we are alive, so here’s a post for you.  if you are interested in reading more about our friends and the work we do in Haiti, you can read here and here and here.

we got to spend lots of time loving on sweet kiddos:

 this little one was so photogenic, my Nikon seemed to not be able to take its lens off of him :)

 and oh boy…if i could describe the JOY in this child, i would…but i can’t.  its simply too pure to put into words!

 our ride:

 my very special friend, Hebreux, checking out a photo album i brought with pics of years past:

 laughing at how young and little these guys were at one time:

 this boy/young man holds a special place in my heart.  you can read all about why here.  he’s a huge part of my story :)

 and his mom is just as precious as he is:

 love her sweet spirit:

 we happened upon a 3 day old baby in a village.  such a fun surprise!

Henbreux wrote me an amazing letter before we left, giving praise to Jesus for what He’s done.  it was so encouraging to my heart to see how God has grabbed ahold of him!

 our Haitian family:

 saying goodbye…until next time!

 i met Emma when she was just a 9 year old little girl!

 homes:

 hidden beauty is everywhere:

 these were a few of the women that i got to work with in 3Cords.  you can read about what exactly we were doing this year here:

make sure you check out the website www.3cordshaiti.com for all the new products, including the new tote bags!  (and if you look carefully, you just might recognize a cute little Bug modeling some kids cords and flower pins!)

not thinking this is exactly Clean Eating, but i’ve grown to really enjoy parts of this meal :)

if you know us at all, then you know this place means so very much to us!  thanks for letting me overwhelm you with photos.

i don’t plan to let this much time pass again before i post again.  so until then,

25 Comments