And the winner is......

Pearl Maple!!!!! You are the winner of my birthday scrap goodies.......please e-mail me at nmcdonald@cornerstone.edu with your address, and I will get this package of goodness off to you!!!!! Thanks again for all who entered.....please keep coming back to look for future giveaways.....I have lots of good stuff that needs a loving and creative home!

Weekend Highlights.

1) Having my parents and siblings/spouses visiting for the weekend
2) My daughter losing her first front tooth, with the other to soon follow
3) A visit to the pumpkin patch; OK, so the actual patch was pretty lame and not well-maintained, but the kids had fun which made the trip worthwhile.
4) Working together as a family to construct "Scary", our new scarecrow who will find a home in the rocking chair on our front porch.
5) Worshipping God through song this morning.....I love to sing harmony, and the songs this morning were full of delicious harmonies.
6) A long leisurely Sunday afternoon nap.
7) Making caramel apples with my kids.
8) Practicing spelling words with my daughter.....she is now working on 2nd and 3rd grade words, and she is doing so well! Maybe we'll see her on ESPN someday?
9) Just revelling in how richly blessed we are. Thanks be to God.

All I Want for Christmas is........

This was my daughter at 7:30 this morning, as we shared a muffin and juice at the Muffins with Mom morning at school. That tooth cracked me up every time I looked at her......have you seen Nanny McPhee? It totally reminded me of Nanny McPhee's snaggle tooth before her transformation.

Today was all about grocery shopping and cooking to get ready for my family's visit this weekend. I decided to make stromboli, and my mom brought broccoli cheese soup and white chicken chili. Hayden and my little sister, Haley, helped make the stromboli--we made ham and cheese, turkey, pizza and taco.....thanks, Haley, for the help.

We then headed out to my husband's last football game of the season. Rainy. Cold. Sleety. Windy. Did I say Rainy? We only last half of the game, though my Dad was a trooper and sat through the entire game in the rain. In the first quarter, as we were shivering and trying to say somewhat dry, my older sister, Kendra, reached into Kennedy's mouth, wiggled the tooth a bit, and VOILA.......my little girl has no front tooth! And to think I almost left my camera at home because of the rain. And the other tooth is very loose and will definitely be out before Christmas. Kennedy was so excited.....I, on the other hand, was frantically thinking whether I had gotten enough cash out of the bank today to cover the $10.00 Tooth Fairy bill......inflation, you know, and this IS a front tooth!


After the game, we enjoyed a great meal and fun conversation. I love it when we gather as a family for no real particular reason.....just to hang out and eat and enjoy each other. Today will bring some shopping with my sisters and hopefully some time at a pumpkin patch and apple orchard. I also have to start getting my kids' Halloween costumes together.....where, oh where, has October gone?

PS--For those of you waiting for the prize drawing, I'm just a little behind with all the festivities of the last day....I will draw tomorrow and announce the winner Monday morning. Thanks for your patience, and enjoy a great Saturday.

Field Trip+Meetings+Muffins+Karate

First, deep thanks for all the amazing responses to my one-year anniversary and to my table challenge. Wow, all of your memories and stories and recollections made me weepy! It's amazing how so many of our growing-up memories and family times center around the table. Now, I challenge you to go and create a scrap layout or mini-album about what happens on and around your table.....who knows, maybe there will be more goody giveaways to come!

This morning, despite rain and threats of major storms, my son and his preschool class headed out to the pumpkin patch. These kids have so much energy and enthusiasm and wonder....highlights included lots of animals (including two very large and very friendly turkeys), a pumpkin train ride, hayride, selection of a pumpkin, and a scrumptious pumpkin glazed donut....yum! The rain really didn't dampen the fun.....after all, for a 4-year-old boy, there is only one thing better than a trip to the pumpkin patch and that is a trip to the pumpkin patch were there are HUGE MUD PUDDLES! Afterward, Hayden accompanied me to several meetings and was a real trooper while I finished my week's work.





Today was also Teacher Appreciation day at our school, so I whipped up a couple batches of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. Let me tell you, people, these are easy and yummy and healthy! Here's the recipe.....seriously, it's that simple:



Pumpkin Choc. Chip Muffins

PreHeat oven to 350 degrees.
Mix 3 ingredients together: 1 choc. cake mix (just the boxed mix), 1/2 bag semi-sweet choc. chips, and 1 small can pumpkin (9 oz).
Mix together, spoon into muffin papers, and bake for 15-20 mins.


That's it....you can also make it in a cake pan and serve with whipped cream or frozen yogurt. My kids and husband LOVE them;....and they don't even realize they are eating their veggies!



Finally, off to karate. The kids both earned their first red stripe on their belts tonight, which basically means that they are eligible for promotion from the white to the yellow belt. Not bad for 2 months of work.

Happy 1st Blogging Birthday!

When I started my "Half-Baked and Firefly Free" blog one year ago today, I did so on a sort of whim, hoping that I would be able to be more discplined with my computer and keyboard than I was in keeping a written family journal. One year later, it is amazing to look back at hundreds of posts documenting and celebrating the ups, downs, and everyday moments of our lives. What a journey this has been, one that I have found incredible rewarding and worth every moment of time invested. The photos in the collage above are a mere glimpse of what this year has involved. Through this blogging adventure, I have been able to stay connected with family and friends, I have met new friends, and I have been able to share my art and thoughts with people across the globe. I find that utterly and amazingly humbling.

As I launch into my second year of blogging, I wanted to make a few changes. The most significant change is that I wanted to select a title that was simpler and more reflective of what this blog is all about. As I reflected on our lives, my mind kept coming back to the idea of the "table." In our family, as it is in many homes, it seems like most of our most fundamental activities center around our table. The table is where we share meals, where we discuss important issues, where we share the highs and lows of our day, where project get done, where the kids draw and paint and create.....it represents the heart of our home. It stands for connection. For nurturing. For heart. My scrap studio table is where my creative ideas take shape and come to life......where paper and paint and glitter and fabric and thread and ink and so many other things come together to document our lives. The table is where the fabric of life is made and shared.

And so, I have renamed this blog "Table Scraps" to communicate what this blog is all about. It is a place where I connect with family and friends (new and old). Where I share the highs and lows of our everday. Where I create and hopefully inspire creativity in others. Where I connect and discuss and share my thoughts on important and sometimes just fun topics. This blog is a metaphor for our lives, and I hope that you enjoy the changes that I have made. It is my hope that you will "pull up a chair" often to share with us in this amazing journey that God has called us to, and that somehow the contents of this blog may inspire or encourage you and help you to somehow see and experience God more fully.

To celebrate my first year and to launch "Table Scraps," I have put together a package of scrapping goodness.....lots of fun things to inspire all you scrappers out there! To be entered into the random drawing, just leave a comment below telling me some of the favorite things that happen around your table....the winner will be drawn in the morning, and the goodies will be on their way to you......just a glimpse...the package includes a brand-new full set of 3-inch acrylic Autumn Leaves alphabet stamps, so you won't want to miss this one! Thanks for stopping by and I hope you enjoy the experience.

A New Year.....Table Scraps.

If you are a regular reader here, you were undoubtedly surprised when you arrived at this site today. The content is the same, but I have a whole new look and a whole new title.....Wednesday marks my one-year anniversary of blogging, and I have been wanting to make some changes to my blog work. So what better time than this to introduce TABLE SCRAPS. On Wednesday, I will post about the meaning behind this title and some changes I have in store for this second year of blogging.....some be sure to come back. Night-night.

We Love These Families

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We have been privileged for the past 10 months or so to have five families who have been our support network. It is always challenging when you move away from immediate family, but it is awesome to live life together with other people to encourage, uplift, support, pray for, challenge, and just do life with others. At our get-together yesterday, we took a few moments to snap some family photos:













We have grown to love these families very much not just because we are "in a group" with them, but because they are the most incredible people.....each gifted in a very unique and amazing way......and each willing to make our group whole by their presence and contributions. We love you guys!