One of my favorite Fall recipe!

Hello Friends!
Christmas is almost here but I could not pass the Fall Season without at least one recipe. This is my very favorite season but Christmas is near and getting the attention already. I hope you all had a happy Thanksgiving. We had 3 different celebrations in our apt in Madrid. I counted 70 diffent people came though our home! It was crazy but great! So here is my recipe for you:

HARVEST CHOWDER

Ingredients:
10 slices bacon
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1 cup finely chopped yellow onion
1 cup finely chopped celery
1/2 cup fresh chopped mushrooms and/or zucchini
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 cups water
4 cups mashed potatoes
1 can creamed corn
1 can whole kernal corn, drained
1 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup half and half (or evaporated milk)
1 1/2 cups milk
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 large tomato chopped (opt.)

Method:
1. In a large pot, fry bacon until crisp. Drain and crumble, set aside.
2. In the same pot the bacon was fried in, fry carrots, onion, celery, mushrooms and/or zucchini for about 2 minutes. Sprinkle with the pepper.
3. Add the 2 cups of water to the pot and simmer vegetables until tender.
4. Add the crumbled bacon and the remaining ingredients and stir well.
5. Cook over low to medium heat until chowder is heated through and the cheese melts. Stir often to prevent scorching and add a little milk or water if chowder becomes to thick.
6. Serve alone or in bread bowls if desired. Serves 10-12. Enjoy!

I am back where I belong!

This may sound crazy as I was born in Brazil and lived in US for many years. Still I feel, in many ways, that I belong to Spain. I have so much history here: I met my husband here, this is the first place I knew outside of Brazil, when I got married we came to live here and my three children were born here!! No wonder I feel the way I do!

I am just happy I get to be here. I love the friends I have, the life I live ... All of these are things I have to thank God for. I do believe that things happen for a reason and life is under the sovereignty of God. I thank Him for allowing me to find pleasure in my life mission.

One of my favorite Bible verses is about God's will being "perfect" and "pleasant". Problems will come, they always do - but then I will think on that other Bible verse, it is "my mourning may last for a night but joy comes in the morning"

As you live your day out, think of the pleasures of your life. Thank God for them. They may be small and simple but the total of them make your life special and unique! Also, be thankful for the obstacles you find. They may be important lessons in disguise.

I just wanted to share with you, my friend, where I am right now. I will be writing more often starting now. Thank you for checking on my blog!

Journaling

During the last two years I have experienced the blessing of journaling. Two years ago on my birthday, I decided to have a full year of writing my thoughts, lessons and prayer requests during that year. I have not stopped to this day.

Today I can tell you it was a tremendous blessed decision. Once in a while I read back and see how God led me during these last two years. I have to tell you, not everything I read is good or make me proud of, but everything reflects God's hand molding me to become a better "me".

There are so many lessons still to learn and so many experiences to go through, I want to make sure to record them. God told the israelites, many times, to tell their children and grandchildren what He had done for them. I feel journaling is a tool to bring glory to God in future generations. That is why I am a scrapbooker as well. These two tools provides us with infitinte ways and oportunities to share our journey of faith with the ones that will come after us.

I encourage you to start writing. It is hard in the beggining but you will be glad you started. I just read an article that talks about journaling as a family and I am copying the link below. I hope you get some ideas from it. It is from Women's Connection e-letter I receive weekly. I hope you can use some of the presented ideas.

I hope you enjoy it!

http://www.christianitytoday.com/tcw/2006/004/15.26.html

RECIPE: Salmon Cheese Ball

Hello friends!

This has become a favorite in our household. My kids love it! Enjoy it!!

Ingredients
2 cups fresh salmon or one 1-pound can of salmon
One 8-ounce cream cheese
1 Tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons grated onion
1 teaspoon horseradish
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon liquid smoke
1/2 cup chopped pecans
3 Tablespoons snipped parsley

Strain and flake salmon. Combine with next 6 ingredients, then chill. Shape into ball then press with pecans and parsley.

RECIPE: Key Lime Pie

One of my family's favorite in Florida is the Key Lime Pie.

I watched this recipe on TV the other day and loved the way it looked, so I made it and it turned out as good as I expected. The only thing missing on this picture is the lime wedges to decorate. It looks very pretty with it.

Here it is your recipe:

Crust: 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs (10 crackers)
1/4 cup sugar
6 tablespoons (3/4 stick) unsalted butter, melted

For the filling:
6 extra-large egg yolks, at room temperature
1/4 cup sugar 1 (14-ounce) can sweetened condensed milk
2 tablespoons grated lime zest
3/4 cup freshly squeezed lime juice (4 to 5 limes)

For the decoration:
1 cup (1/2 pint) cold heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
Thin lime wedges

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. For the crust, combine the graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and butter in a bowl. Press into a 9-inch pyrex pie pan, making sure the sides and the bottom are an even thickness. Bake for 10 minutes until firm and golden. Allow to cool completely.

For the filling, beat the egg yolks and sugar on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment for 5 minutes, until thick. With the mixer on medium speed, add the condensed milk, lime zest, and lime juice. Pour into the baked pie shell and freeze.

For the decoration, beat the heavy cream on high speed in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the whisk attachment until soft peaks form. Add the sugar and vanilla and beat until firm. Spoon or pipe decoratively onto the pie and decorate with lime. Freeze for several hours or overnight.

Note: If you have concerns about raw eggs, combine the yolks with 1/2 cup of the lime juice used in the recipe in a double boiler. Whisk constantly over medium heat until the mixture reaches 140 degrees. Use in place of the raw egg yolks, remembering to add the remaining 1/4 cup of lime juice to the filling mixture along with the condensed milk and zest. Enjoy it!!!

The Refiner

Malachi 3:3 says: "He will sit as a refiner and purifier of silver."

This verse puzzled some women in a Bible study and they wondered what this statement meant about the character and nature of God. One of the women offered to find out the process of refining silver and get back to the group at their next Bible Study.

That week, the woman called a silversmith and made an appointment to watch him at work. She didn't mention anything about the reason for her interest beyond her curiosity about the process of refining silver.

As she watched the silversmith, he held a piece of silver over the fire and let it heat up. He explained that in refining silver, one needed to hold the silver in the middle of the fire where the flames were hottest as to burn away all the impurities.

The woman thought about God holding us in such a hot spot;then she thought again about the verse that says: "He sits as a refiner and purifier of silver." She asked the silversmith if it was true that he had to sit there in front of the fire the whole time the silver was being refined.

The man answered that yes, he not only had to sit there holding the silver, but he had to keep his eyes on the silver the entire time it was in the fire. If the silver was left a moment too long in the flames, it would be destroyed.

The woman was silent for a moment. Then she asked the silversmith, "How do you know when the silver is fully refined?" He smiled at her and answered, "Oh, that's easy -- when I see my image in it"

If today you are feeling the heat of the fire, remember that God has his eye on you and will keep watching you until He sees His image in you.

When God made Mothers

First ... Happy Mother's Day!!

I would like to share what I read yesterday on my devotional:

"A Woman who fears the Lord, she will be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates."
Proverbs 31:30-31

He made them as something special!

Their hands are delicately formed; they can create an exquisite piece of art while binding the imaginary wound of a child's broken heart. A mother's soothing touch to a feverish brow is like a "magic cure" to the inner soul.

Kings have been transfused by the plasma of her dreams. Nations are still being conquered through the inspiration of her ideals. Weak leaders are often supported by her feminine mystique. Her offspring have walked on the moon, tilled the soil, explored planets and plumbed the ocean depths.

She is a paradox! Unpredictable. Not easily understood by the male species. They have studied her, used her body, written pages of scientific data about her. Yet, no one has discovered the mystery of a woman herself.

Not will they ever!

God and God alone is able to contemplate her worth. For it was she He chose to bear His son, tutor Him in childhood, and to minister to Him at the cross.

She was the very last of all God's creative acts. When He has finished with His original "MASTERPIECE" called woman, it was as if God said:

"Now that I have made mothers, I can rest."

By Ruthe White
Book: A Gentle Spirit
Devotional Selections for Today's Christian Woman

Happy Easter!

Dear friends!

I have been thinking about Christ's death. It is a common thought during this time of the year.

I found this picture today and a thought came to my mind. It is a sand sculpture that we saw in the north coast of Spain, Gijón, where we lived for 7 years. Isn't it true that sometimes we celebrate fervently the death and ressurrection and days after Easter the "elements of the wheather", little by little, eliminates those thoughts from our minds ... like sand in the wind.

I hope to live daily with this vivid imagine: that someone loved me enough to give his life for me!
I would like to share a few stories and thoughts about Easter. I hope you enjoy them.

The gift of life

While a patient at a hospital in Cape Town, South Africa, Philip Blaiberg told of the night when Christiaan Barnard, gowned and muzzled, walked into his sterile room carrying in his hand a plastic box. It contained his old herat. The eminent surgeon said: “Dr. Blaiberg, do you realize that you are the first man int he history of mankind to be able to sit as you are now, and look at his own, dead heart?”
Whata dramatic moment! What a miracle! Second unto it was when the courageous patient met for the first time the woman who had given him life, namely, permission for surgeons to remove the heart of her dead husband. Blaiberg asked, “What does one say in such circumstance? She had lost a life, I had gained one.”
This is precisely the gift of Christ “I came that they man have life, and have it abundantly’.


Resurrection Because the tomb was empty

One warm spring afternoon near Easter, a teacher gave a large plastic egg to each of her students. Then she sent them outside to find signs of life and put them inside their egg. Soon they returned. In one was a butterfly. In another was an ant. Others contained flowers, twigs, blades of grass. But one egg had nothing in it. Everyone knew whose it was - it belonged to a boy with Down’s syndrome. Some of the kids laughed at him. The teacher asked him why he had not put any signs of life in his egg. He said quietly, “Because the tomb was empty.” That boy knew a profound truth - Easter is more than a celebration of nature’s life cycle.

Reasons for not visiting the empty tomb - Herschel Hobbs

After Mary Magdalene left the tomb there is no evidence that any believer ever returned to it. Furthermore, there is no Gospel evidence that any of the enemies of Jesus ever visited the tomb. His enemies did not go because they were afraid it was empty. Jesus’ friends did not return to the tomb because they knew it was empty!

The Stations of the Cross -- Lavon Brown

Every year thousands of people climb a mountain in the Italian Alps, passing the "stations of the cross" to stand at an outdoor crucifix. One tourist noticed a little trail that led beyond the cross. He fought through the rough thicket and, to his surprise, came upon another shrine, a shrine that symbolized the empty tomb. It was neglected. The brush had grown up around it. Almost everyone had gone as far as they cross, but there they stopped.
Far too many have gotten to the cross and have known the despair and the heartbreak. Far too few have moved beyond the cross to find the real message of Easter. That is the message of the empty tomb.


Among chocolate candies and bunny rabits, let's not forget the sweetest gift of all: the death of Christ on the cross for me and for you!

Happy Easter!

April Fool's Day "Cake"

I got this recipe from "cookingvillage.com" and tought I would share with my friends. Visit their website, they have lots of great recipes.

April Fool's Cake

Ingredients:
For the Meat Loaf
. 2 pounds lean ground meat
. 3 large eggs
. 1 cup bread crumbs
. 2/3 cup sliced green onions
. 1/2 cup milk
. 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley
. 2 large garlic gloves, minced
. 2 tablespoons Wercestershire sauce
. 1 teaspoon salt
. 1/4 teaspoon black pepper

For the Decoration:
. 1 jar roasted red pepper, drained and patted dry
. 3 1/2 cups of mashed potatoes
. 8 cherry tomatoes, stems removed

Directions
Preparing the Meat Loaf
1. Preheat over to 375. In a large bowl, combine meat, eggs, crumbs, onions, milk, parsley, garlic, Wescestershire sauce, salt and pepper until blended.
2. Divide mixture between 2 8-inch round cake pans, patting to cover pan evenly and make level.
3. Bake meat loaves until juices run clear when meat is pierced witha fork, or meat loaves register 170F on a meat thermometer, 20-25 minutes. Remove from the oven, cover loose with foil and let it stand for 10 minutes.

Decorating the Meat Loaf
1. Pour off juices from pans. Inverte meat loaf into a flat servinf plate. Using a small sharp knife, trim red peppers so that they lie flat. Cover top of meat loaf with a single level of roastes red peppers.
2. Top with other meat loaf. Spread most of the mashed potatoes (leave 2/3 cups aside) over top and sides of meat loaf. Spoon remaining potatoes into a pastry bad fitted with a large star tip. Pipe swirls around top edges of cake. Pipe stars aaround bottom of cake.
3. Place cherry tomatoes, stem-ends down, in a ring around top of meat loaf "cake" to resemble cherries. Cu meat loaf into wedges, serve immediately.

Enjoy it! I thought it was such a cute idea!

Mara

Testify to Love, Avalon

Dear Friends,

Just wanted to share the lyrics of a song which has become one of my favorites in this season of my life. No matter where I am in this world, the truth is that for as long as I shal live I will testily to love.

God's wonderful creation tell us of His love for you and me. Why sometimes we cannot see it? Maybe because we are blinded by things around us that are taking the place where God should be. This song is a call for us to look at the world with new eyes and note the works of this loving God ... each day, each moment.

Avalon - Testify To Love Lyrics

All the colors of the rainbow
All the voices of the wind
Every dream that reaches out
That reaches out to find where love begins
Every word of every story
Every star in every sky
Every corner of creation lives to testify

(Chorus:)
For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love
I'll be a witness in the silences when words are not enough
With every breath I take
I will give thanks to God above
For as long as I shall live
I will testify to love

From the mountains to the valleys
From the rivers to the sea
Every hand that reaches out
Every hand that reaches out to offer peace
Every simple act of mercy
Every step to kingdom come
All the hope in every heart will speak what love has done

Whenever you have a chance, listen to Avalon. Besides being of an incredible quality, their perfomance shows more than just talent. I had the priviledge of seing and listening to them, it was awesome!

God's Creative Work! Me!

Dear Friends,

Muy husband shared this verse he read on "The Message" Bible. If you are not familiar with it, it a version of the Bible in a language that most of us could understand without taking from its truth and integrity.

The verse goes like this: “Make a careful exploration of who you are and the work you have been given, and then sink yourself into that. Don’t be impressed with yourself. Don’t compare yourself with others. Each of you must take responsibility for doing the creative best you can with your own life.” -- Galatians 6

I have been asking these questions to myself lately. We just had a major move in our lives. When we find ourselves in a new enviroment, we are faced with so many pressures that the real "you" surfaces. I find myself going back to the very beginning: Who am I in God's perspective? Who did he intend for me to be? What does he want me to perform in this season of my life? His will and desires for us change as we move on with life, and hopefully, mature.

God encourages us to look at ourselves and observe what He has laid before us to do. Nothing more ... nothing less. We should not think of ourselves more than we really are, but we should not think less either. We are unique and exist to contribute to the world in a way that just we individually can.

I pray I can get there: not comparing myself to others, unless it is to imitate good habits and attittudes - not to feel I do not measure up to them. What is important for us is to measure up to what God expects from us!

I also pray I can find fun in discovering all the good things God has planned for me. Do not forget: His will for us is "perfect and pleasant". That means that a wonderful adventure is ahead of us trying to find our perfect place in this world!

Have fun in your jorney!

Mara

Do you hear voices?

I am back to a kind of normal life again and would like to start sharing some things I hear and think it to be thought provoking.

Do you hear voices? I do! I hear people, circunstances and my past telling me things. In one side I hear these voices but in the other, I hear the "Voice of Truth". You can choose who you will listen to. I choose to listen to the one who knows me best, who created me!

May I share with you the words of this song by Casting Crowns? Enjoy it and think about it!

"Voice of Truth"

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of faith it takes
To climb out of this boat
I'm inon to the crashing waves
To step out of my comfort zone
Into the realm of the unknown where Jesus is
And He's holding out His hand
But the waves are calling out my name
And they laugh at me
Reminding me of all the times I've tried before and failed
The waves they keep on telling meTime and time again.
"Boy, you'll never win!""You'll never win!"

Chorus:
But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story
The Voice of Truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
And the Voice of Truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth

Oh what I would do to have
The kind of strength it takes
to stand before a giant
With just a sling and a stone
Surrounded by the sound of a thousand warriors
Shaking in their armor
Wishing they'd have had the strength to stand
But the giant's calling out my name
And he laughs at me
Reminding me of all the times
I've tried before and failed
The giant keeps on telling me
Time and time again. "Boy you'll never win!""You'll never win!"

Chorus:
But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story
The Voice of Truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
And the Voice of Truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me
I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth

But the stone was just the right size
To put the giant on the ground
And the waves they don't seem so high
On top of them lookin' down
I will soar with the wings of eagles
When I stop and listen to the sound of Jesus
Singing over me

Chorus:
But the Voice of Truth tells me a different story
The Voice of Truth says, "Do not be afraid!"
And the Voice of Truth says, "This is for My glory"
Out of all the voices calling out to me (calling out to me)
I will choose to listen and believe-I will choose to listen and believe the Voice of Truth
I will listen and believeI will listen and believe the Voice of truth
I will listen and believeCause Jesus you are the voice of truth
And I will listen to you, you are-

In Christ Alone

The other day my husband called me and said I HAD to hear this song. I sat down and listened to it. While I was doing so I wished the song would stop each line so I could "diggest" the truths I found in it. It is a beautiful song with so much depth!

I recommend you to sit down and listen carefully to the words of this song. It will bless you!

Listen to a sample of the song at http://www.wordmusic.com/easter/book.cfm?upc=080689517273 -- click on LISTEN!

IN CHRIST ALONE

In Christ alone my hope is found,
He is my light, my strength, my song;
This Cornerstone, this solid Ground,
Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love, what depths of peace,
When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!
My Comforter, my All in All,
Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone! – who took on flesh,
Fullness of God in helpless babe!
This gift of love and righteousness,
Scorned by the ones He came to save:
‘Til on that cross as Jesus died,
The wrath of God was satisfied –
For every sin on Him was laid;
Here in the death of Christ I live.

There in the ground His body lay,
Light of the world by darkness slain:
Then bursting forth in glorious Day
Up from the grave He rose again!
And as He stands in victory
Sin’s curse has lost its grip on me,
For I am His and He is mine –
Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death,
This is the power of Christ in me;
From life’s first cry to final breath,
Jesus commands my destiny.
No power of hell, no scheme of man,
Can ever pluck me from His hand;
‘Til He returns or calls me home,
Here in the power of Christ I’ll stand!

RECIPE: Russian Carrot Dip

I am already moved! Got some travelling done and now kids are in school! So, ... I have some time to get back to my blog. During one of our trips, visiting some friends in Atlanta, I tried this wonderful dip and highly recommend it! My friends learned it from a Russian friend. Enjoy it!

Russian Carrot Dip

Ingredients:
1 lb. carrots (steamed till tender, not mushy! Grate or chop it.
1 8 oz. package of parmesan cheese, grate
3 gloves of garlic, chopped fine
Mayonaise till right - start with 1/2 cup

Mix it all!! Serve with any kind of chips. I loved it with multi grain chips!

We are moving ...

I will be back after July 5th! I am busy, busy, busy ...

All Kinds of Prayers

UNANSWERED PRAYER?

The preacher's 5 year-old daughter noticed that her father always paused and bowed his head, for a moment, before starting his sermon.

One day, she asked him why.

"Well, Honey," he began, proud that his daughter was so observant of his messages, "I'm asking the Lord to help me preach a good sermon."

"How come He doesn't do it?" she asked.


BEING THANKFUL

A rabbi said to a precocious six-year-old boy, "So your mother says your prayers for you each night? Very commendable. What does she say?"

The little boy replied, "Thank God he's in bed!"


EXPRESS PRAYER

Our son had only heard his grandfather pray at Thanksgiving, Easter, and other special occasions; when he, typically, said a long prayer over the food. One night, after a fun camp-out and fishing trip, grandfather (to our son's surprise) asked a very brief blessing on the food. With a gleam in his eye, our son grinned at his Grandfather and said, "You don't pray so long when you're hungry, do you Grandpa?"


UNTIMELY ANSWERED PRAYER

During the minister's prayer, one Sunday, there was a loud whistle from one of the back pews. Gary's mother was horrified. She pinched him into silence and, after church, asked, "Gary, whatever made you do such a thing?"

Gary answered, soberly, "I asked God to teach me to whistle . and He just then did!"


TIME TO PRAY

A pastor asked a little boy if he said his prayers every night.

"Yes sir," the boy replied.

"And, do you always say them in the morning, too?" the pastor asked.

"No sir," the boy replied. "I ain't scared in the daytime."


THE BLESSING

My wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to our six-year-old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?" "I wouldn't know what to say," she replied. "Just say what you hear Mommy say," my wife said.

Our daughter bowed her head and said, "Dear Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"


BEWARE OF TRASH

One particular four-year old prayed, "And forgive us our 'trash baskets' as we forgive those who put trash in our baskets."


ALL MEN / ALL GIRLS?

When my daughter, Kelli, was 3, she and my son, Cody, would say their nightly prayers, together. As most children do, we have to bless every family member, every friend, and every animal (current and past).

For several weeks, after we had finished the nightly prayer, Kelli would say, "And all girls."

As this soon became part of her nightly routine, to include this at the end, my curiosity got the best of me and I asked her, "Kelli, why do you always add the part about all girls?"

Her response, "Because we always finish our prayers by saying 'All Men'!"

SAY A PRAYER

Little Johnny and his family were having Sunday dinner at his Grandmother's house. Everyone was seated around the table as the food was being served. When little Johnny received his plate, he started eating right away.

"Johnny wait until we say our prayer." "I don't have to," The boy replied.

"Of course, you do," his mother insisted. "We say a prayer, before eating, at our house."

"That's our house," Johnny explained. "But this is Grandma's house and she knows how to cook!

Scrapbooking: it is Biblical!

Hello,

You might be wondering where I got this idea. The thing is that I always loved art work and that was why I started scrapbooking.

With time, I have realized how much potential there is in this hobby:
1) it is a beautiful art work
2) you can save inportant data
3) you can save moments and memories

Then it came to me!! Reading the Bible this morning, I was in Joshua, chapter 4. The story goes with Joshua as he decides to put 12 stones as a reminder for future generations of what God did among the Israelites. I am sure if they had a camera at the time, he would have taken a picture!!

We all have been through mountain top or valley experiences in our life's journey. These experiences, with God's help, can be markers that makes us better persons and hopefully better followers of Christ. I am not sure where you are, my reader, but with Christ, both good and bad experiences, can bring growth and a positive outcome.

Those markers can be expressed in your scrapbook so your future generation can praise God for His wonders and miracles! God spoke to me this morning through these verses in the Bible:

Joshua 4:6: "... when your children ask ... tell them ..."

Joshua 4:21: " ... in your future when your descendents ask ... tell them ... "

Joshua 4: 24: "He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know what the hand of the Lord is powerfull and so that you might always fear the Lord your God."

What a great resource we have nowadays through Scrapbooking. We can leave records of all the works of the Lord in our lives and "they will know that the hand of the Lord is powerfull and will fear the Lord your God".

God bless!

RECIPE: Fruit Pancakes that Kids Can Help Make

I got this recipe from a favorite web site. I really think it is a fun one for kids to be part of it. Enjoy it!

Fruit Pancakes That Kids Can Help Make

INGREDIENTS
2 cups all-purpose flour

1 tbsp. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tbsp. sugar

2 eggs

2 cups milk

3 tbsp. vegetable oil

Butter

About 1 cup of fruit, such as blueberries, raspberries, Sliced strawberries, apples, peaches or bananas

Maple syrup

Step 1 Sift the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar into a large bowl. Show the chef how to measure accurately, using dry measuring cups and leveling off the flour. And be sure to have him check for any remaining lumps in the bottom of the sifter.

Step 2 Whisk the eggs and milk in a separate bowl, then whisk in the oil. Pour the egg mixture over the dry ingredients and stir with a spoon, but do not beat. The batter will be a little bit lumpy, but that's okay. For fluffier pancakes, substitute buttermilk for the milk and use 2 teaspoons baking soda instead of the baking powder.

Step 3 Melt 1 tablespoon of butter in a griddle or an electric skillet on medium high. Then, being careful not to splatter the hot butter, drop about 1/4 cup of batter for each pancake (a job for older kids and parents only). Be sure to leave enough room between the cakes for them to grow. For fun, you can drizzle the batter into shapes. Pour it into a plastic bag, snip a small hole in one corner, and squeeze the batter into hearts, teddy bears, numbers or your child's initials on the hot griddle.

Step 4 Ask your kids what fruits they want to add to their pancakes, then gently press blueberries, raspberries, or apple or banana slices into the batter. To help the kids pick their favorite fillings, set out bowls of the prepared fruits. Six-year-old Tom picked five blueberries and one raspberry, whereas his sister, four-year-old Ruth, said "I don't want to put anything in it, just on it."

Step 5 Cook until the pancakes bubble on the top and brown on the bottom. Flip, then cook until brown on the other side. For successful cooking, use a griddle that heats evenly. Keep it on medium high--if it's too hot, the pancakes will burn on the outside and remain gooey on the inside; if it's not hot enough, the crust will turn hard and the inside will be dry. Cook a test pancake in the beginning, then adjust your heat accordingly.

Step 6 Serve the pancakes hot with butter and maple syrup, if you like. Or, stockpile them on an oven-proof dish set in a warm oven for any late sleepers. Makes 20 pancakes.

RECIPE: Summer Brocoli Salad

Great recipe for a cookout or a picnic!!! It is SO good!

1 medium bunch broccoli
1 lb. Bacon crisp cooked
1/1/2 cup small shell shaped pasta
1 medium red onion chopped
8 oz. Cheddar cheese cut in small cubes
1 ½ cup shredded carrots
1 cup dark raisins
1 ½ -2 cups mayonnaise
½ cup honey
1 tsp. Salt or to taste
½ tsp. Pepper or to taste

Cook pasta until tender, drain and rinse well. Cook bacon until crisp, drain and crumble. Chop broccoli in small pieces. In large bowel combine broccoli, bacon, pasta, onion, cheese, onions and raisins, toss to mix. In small bowl combine mayonnaise, honey, salt, and pepper. Pour over broccoli, pasta mix and stir well. Chill about 2 hours.

Funny Stories for Moms

An exasperated mother, whose son was always getting into mischief, finally asked him, "How do you expect to get into Heaven?"

The boy thought it over and said, "Well, I'll just run in and out and in and out and keep slamming the door until St. Peter says, 'For Heaven's sake, Jimmy, come in or stay out!'"

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My son Zachary, 4, came screaming out of the bathroom to tell me he'd dropped his toothbrush in the toilet. So I fished it out and threw it in the garbage. Zachary stood there thinking for a moment, then ran to my bathroom and came out with my toothbrush. He held it up and said with a charming little smile, "We better throw this one out too then, 'cause it fell in the toilet a few days ago."

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A Sunday School teacher asked her pupils, "Now, children, do you all say your prayers at night?"

A little boy answered: "My MUMMY says my prayers."

"I see," said the teacher, "and what does your Mummy SAY?"

Replied the little boy: "THANK GOD HE'S IN BED!"

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One day a little girl was sitting and watching her mother do the dishes at the kitchen sink. She suddenly noticed that her mother had several strands of white hair sticking out, in contrast on her brunette head.

She looked at her mother and inquisitively asked, "Mommy, why are some of your hairs white?"

Her mother replied, "Well, every time you do something wrong and make me cry or unhappy, one of my hairs turns white."

The little girl was silent for a while, and then said, "Poor Grandma. You must have been a very, very bad girl."

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The child was a typical four-year-old girl -- cute, inquisitive, bright as a new penny. When she expressed difficulty in grasping the concept of marriage, her father decided to pull out his wedding photo album, thinking visual images would help. One page after another, he pointed out the bride arriving at the church, the entrance, the wedding ceremony, the recessional, the reception, etc.

"Now do you understand?" he asked.

"I think so," she said, "is that when mommy came to work for us?"