Junior High Retreat 2010 - Day 2

The next day after breakfast we went to the high ropes course were they had a rock climbing wall...

The Power Pole...

and the Quad...

After getting all hot an sweaty on the ropes courses, we got to cool down in the lake!

The boys played football...

some of the girls played in the sand...

we went on the water slide...

and blobbed each other....

During our lesson and discussion time that day, we talked about how the destination for unrepentant sinners is Hell. We looked at passages in the Bible that showed what Hell is like. We talked about how there is a great separation between Heaven and Hell; once you're there, you're there. Nothing you or anyone else can do can provide relief. Not being from a Christian family, or doing good works or even going to a good church will save anyone. (Luke 16:19-31) Only trusting in Christ's righteousness, His taking the punishment (God's wrath) for sin on the cross and dying in our place and believing that God raised Him from the dead will save you.


That evening before we played capture the flag, we played a game so we could get to know everyone's name better. Everyone had a lot of fun... and were exhausted when the day was over.

Junior High Camp 2010 - Day 1

This past weekend we went to Junior High Camp at Timberlake Ranch Camp with our Junior High youth group at church. My husband and I were 2 of 9 leaders that went with the 27 kids present on the trip. There were 2 girls cabins and 2 boys cabins inside a big fort.

The fort and surrounding area served as the perfect location for football in the mornings and capture the flag late into the evening; something that the kids looked forward to doing when the sun had gone down. Some wear black from head to toe, to sneak around members of the opposing team.

We had a lesson each day and time for small groups afterward to discuss the lesson and answer any questions the kids might have had. The main focus of the trip was living in light of Eternity. 

The first night we talked about our problem... that someday we will die, and we don't know when that will be. God has numbered our days and we should count each day as if it were our last, so that we might be living wisely. (Psalm 90:12) "Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Junior High Retreat 2010 T-Shirt Design

Sara and I helped design the t-shirts this year using an illustration that metaphorically represented Psalm 90:12.  "Teach us to number our days that we may gain a heart of wisdom."

Here's a picture of the front of the t-shirt.

The back features a tree with numbers (representing numbering your days) in the branches and in the middle of the tree is a heart of wisdom.

Here is a picture of some of the boys wearing their camp t-shirts.

Seven Days of Salad Challenge...

For the Month of July I challenged all of my friends to eat salad for dinner every day for one week of their choosing.

The purpose of this challenge was to share seven of their favorite salad recipes with me and other participants, so that I/we could have a bunch of great salad recipes on hand for whenever a summer potluck came up and a salad was needing to be made.

For this challenge, they were to make a different salad every night as the meal... the main course... this time the salad was NOT a side dish. I was looking for salads with dressings that were are homemade (easy to replicate), and should also include some kind of protein in it, whether it be nuts, chicken, tofu etc. to make it a complete meal.

They weren't limited to green salads only, but rather had the option to make salads with grains, beans and lentils as well. At the end of the week they were to send in the recipes with a rating 5 stars being the best.

Here are the seven salad recipes our family made during our Salad Challenge Week:

Eggless Ceaser Salad (add roast Chicken) *****

Recipe courtesy of Rachel Ray

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Chinese Chicken Salad *****

Recipe courtesy of Barefoot Contessa

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Roasted Corn and Avacado Salad *****

Recipe courtesy of Celebrate the Rain Cookbook (pg 95)

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Lemon-Garlic Shrimp with Greens *****

Recipe courtesy of Celebrate the Rain Cookbook (pg103)

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Italian Antipasto Salad ****

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

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Smoked Salmon Pasta Salad ***

Recipe courtesy of Celebrate the Rain Cookbook (pg 97)

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Beef Taco Salad with Chunky Tomato Dressing *****
Recipe courtesy of Ellie Krieger

Our absolute favorite pick from the week was the lemon-Garlic Shrimp Salad, it was so light and fresh tasting. The dressing was not over powering and it was the perfect compliment to the shrimp.

Omaha's Finest Farmers Market...

There is an awesome farmers market down town! It reminds me of the one in Montrose or Seattle. Although they don't throw fish here, there is still a lot to see and do. I love connecting with local farmers who grow various organic foods; vegetables, cheeses, honey and even plants! On this trip we took our nephew with us, to give my sister-in-law a chance to sleep in a bit after a long week.

With my trusty TJ bag and nephew in toe, we were ready to find some herbs for the garden and other little goodies.

This "sno cups" cart reminded me of the food carts in downtown LA...

Here we are picking out some plants for "Aunt Julie's Garden"...

I found some parsley!!!

After finding some plants for the garden, we decided to stop for a tasty treat at the... CANDY SHOP!!! :)

Roasting Coffee at the O'Neal's

Spencer has recently taken up a new hobby... roasting his own coffee. (Buying green beans are almost half the cost as buying already roasted beans, and they last up to a year. Once you roast them they last about a week, but are fresher then store bought.)

He wanted to share the first roasting experience with the O'Neals when we were over there last. Here's a few snap shots from the day...

All you need is an popcorn popper (that has slits in the inside to circulate the air), cardboard or metal tube (that sits in popcorn popper opening), metal strainer or stock pot, and a wooden spoon.

The first batch...

cooling the beans...

The girls have a turn :)

The finished medium and dark roasts... Spencer is pleased :)

The Container Garden...

I love to garden... so I've tried to maximize our back patio/deck to grow as many plants as possible. For those of you who haven't seen our patio... it's small... you can fit 2 folding chairs and a t.v. tray back there comfortably. Here's the garden as of today....

The pinto beans that went to seed when I soaked them in water to prepare for the next nights dinner, but wasn't able to get to them in time before they sprouted. I just decided to plant them instead of tossing them out... well see how they turn out... I've never seen what a pinto bean looks like as a pod. (this is like day 7 or so from when I first soaked the beans)

The eggplant I got from a farmers market downtown...

Blueberries... yes, I actually grew blueberries!!! and they are delicious! I read online that the first year is the most crucial though... so I'm not sure if they will last until next year since we don't have any ground to plant them in. I'm hoping they will do good as house plants over the winter.

Some Spring mix and dill...

Fresh herbs: (Left to right) Tarragon, Savory, Italian Parsley, Rosemary, Sage,

Cilantro, Oregano, Thyme, Majoram, and basil.

and sweet yellow peppers (the kind that are small)