Current temperature: 35 degrees
Current dinner cooking on the stove: Chili
Current plans: None
Sounds like a great Saturday evening to me!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Louisiana Baptist Children's Home- Day 5
On Monday morning we were up with the kids and then the O’Neals went to staff meeting once the kids were off to school. We would’ve been allowed to go but they were having a speaker come in to tell them about their new retirement accounts so we opted not to go. I was beginning to feel sick so I went off to get some medicine at the Rite Aid down the street. I don’t think I have mentioned it yet but there was a cottage on campus that was quarantined due to having the flu and three children in the two cottages we had been in already getting sick so there was something definitely going around campus. After staff meeting we moved cottages again- from Grace to Hope. Mrs. Gwen had a meeting with a social worker so she told us to just go and relax so we did. We went back to the mall- walked around and had lunch there. We went back to the campus and rested until it was time for Rec. We participated in Rec with the kids and then had dinner in the cottage. After dinner I still was not feeling well so I went to bed and the kids went to do their homework. Michael was able to talk to some of them about their experiences and came away with some ideas for us to implement when we start serving kids. That night I threw up and we decided to leave the next morning so as not to spread it any further in that house.
Monday, January 25, 2010
Louisiana Baptist Children's Home- Day 4
Sunday morning we went to church with Grace Cottage. Mrs. O’Neal stayed home with one of the children who was sick but when we came home she had a fantastic Sunday lunch waiting for us. It was another pretty relaxing day as they took naps and just had a “chill” day. That evening was a post season game for the Saints so we made sure we were settled in to watch their road to the Superbowl.
Sunday, January 24, 2010
Louisiana Baptist Children's Home- Day 3
On Saturday we hung out with the kids for part of the morning before moving cottages- from Joy to Grace. We moved our stuff and then headed with the cottage dad- Mr. O’Neal to North Monroe Baptist Church. Saturday was a Day Visit day for the campus where parents/guardians can come, pick up their child, and go do something with them for the day. For the children that do not have anyone coming for a day visit North Monroe Baptist Church opens up their youth area for the kids to have something to do. They have computers, ping pong, video games, foosball, and a rock climbing wall so there is plenty to do. We played for an hour, they fed us lunch, and then we played for another hour or so. What a great ministry to the kids who didn’t have a day visit. Since it was the weekend things were pretty relaxed when we got back to campus. We played with the kids, had pizza for dinner, and then hung out and watched TV in the evening.
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Louisiana Baptist Children's Home- Day 2
I woke up earlier than I had in a LONG time to meet Missy to help get breakfast ready. Not knowing what the atmosphere would be in the house I wanted to make sure I had showered and was dressed before going out of our room. Turns out pajamas would’ve been okay but at least I was ready for the day. I watched as Missy pulled out 2 big griddles and made French toast for everyone. I have since registered our cottage for 2 big griddles as I see they will come in quite handy. Michael helped Jimmy take the kids to school and then came back home to pick us back up. It was going to be a busy day for the houseparents. Two of the kids in their cottage were having an award ceremony in the morning and three of their kids were having an FRC (Family Review Conference). At 8:30am we were sitting in the school cafeteria/auditorium to watch 4th and 5th graders get awards. One counselor from the children’s home was there but Missy and Jimmy were the only house parents. Now there were other kids from the children’s home getting awards and their houseparents may have had prior commitments but I came away from the experience making a mental note to try and attend as many events for the kids I will have. After the ceremony we headed back to campus. FRC’s are done twice a year with the kids, their guardian, the houseparents, counselor, and director of the campus to review the past six months and talk about the next six months. We were not allowed to participate so we went to the mall and walked around. We met Jimmy and Missy for lunch and then they had another FRC so we watched a movie and got back to the campus right when the kids came back from school. We participated in Rec with them before dinner, ate an early supper, and then went to a basketball game at the Christian school that one of the kids was playing in. Going to watch 3 high school basketball games- JV boys, V girls, and V boys- is not my idea of an ideal Friday night but supporting the kids is so I was excited to go. We stopped at McDonalds for ice cream on the way home and came back to the cottage to hang out since it was now the weekend.
Friday, January 22, 2010
Louisiana Baptist Children's Home- Day 1
We spent January 21-27 at the Louisiana Baptist Children's Home in Monroe, LA to job shadow and see what life is like on a children home campus. The next few days cover our adventure there.
We arrived at the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home around 11am and met with the Children’s Home Director of Cottage Life, Tommy Frost. He spoke with us for a few minutes, went over some basic rules, and then introduced us to the first set of cottage parents we would be shadowing, Jimmy and Missy Pierce. The Pierce’s took us to lunch at O’Charley’s where we just jumped into getting to know each other and learning about what their cottage- Joy Cottage- was like. They were very open and honest about their way of life, how their cottage was ran, and answered any question we had. After lunch we settled into the cottage relief house parent’s room and also took a tour of the campus. Michael went with Jimmy to pick the kids up from school and I spent time with Missy getting the after school snack prepared for when the kids came home. We made peanut butter crispy treats but because she does not have any marshmallows we made it with corn syrup instead. They tasted just fine and lesson learned about making due with what you have.
When the children get home from school they have different “meetings” they attend. Some may have an appointment with a social worker or counselor. Others may be required to attend tutoring or do some work in the computer lab. They also offer some music classes, ceramics, and a recreational time with college students. On Thursday we visited the Rec time and watched the kids do a team building activity and then play dodgeball.
Dinner was at 6pm. LBCH has cooks that come and make the evening meal for the cottage. The dietician makes the menu for the week but the cottage parents have some flexibility to modify it. For example, the menu said Taco Soup but instead we just had tacos. After dinner is when the kids do their evening chores and homework. However, our Thursday evening also involved a “deep clean” (changing sheets, cleaning bathrooms). Joy Cottage usually does this on Saturday but this weekend was a day visit and Friday evening we were going to attend a basketball game so it had to be moved to Thursday. So we watched and sometimes helped as the kids straightened their rooms and had them checked by the house mom. After the chores and cleaning were done we settled into doing some homework. I helped one of the girls go over her spelling words as well as do some math. I looked down at the paper and it was subtraction with fractions. Not only fractions but where you had to borrow from the whole number…took me a minute to figure out what to do! But all in all we figured it out and the homework was completed. We helped put the kids to bed and were sleeping by 10pm.
We arrived at the Louisiana Baptist Children’s Home around 11am and met with the Children’s Home Director of Cottage Life, Tommy Frost. He spoke with us for a few minutes, went over some basic rules, and then introduced us to the first set of cottage parents we would be shadowing, Jimmy and Missy Pierce. The Pierce’s took us to lunch at O’Charley’s where we just jumped into getting to know each other and learning about what their cottage- Joy Cottage- was like. They were very open and honest about their way of life, how their cottage was ran, and answered any question we had. After lunch we settled into the cottage relief house parent’s room and also took a tour of the campus. Michael went with Jimmy to pick the kids up from school and I spent time with Missy getting the after school snack prepared for when the kids came home. We made peanut butter crispy treats but because she does not have any marshmallows we made it with corn syrup instead. They tasted just fine and lesson learned about making due with what you have.
When the children get home from school they have different “meetings” they attend. Some may have an appointment with a social worker or counselor. Others may be required to attend tutoring or do some work in the computer lab. They also offer some music classes, ceramics, and a recreational time with college students. On Thursday we visited the Rec time and watched the kids do a team building activity and then play dodgeball.
Dinner was at 6pm. LBCH has cooks that come and make the evening meal for the cottage. The dietician makes the menu for the week but the cottage parents have some flexibility to modify it. For example, the menu said Taco Soup but instead we just had tacos. After dinner is when the kids do their evening chores and homework. However, our Thursday evening also involved a “deep clean” (changing sheets, cleaning bathrooms). Joy Cottage usually does this on Saturday but this weekend was a day visit and Friday evening we were going to attend a basketball game so it had to be moved to Thursday. So we watched and sometimes helped as the kids straightened their rooms and had them checked by the house mom. After the chores and cleaning were done we settled into doing some homework. I helped one of the girls go over her spelling words as well as do some math. I looked down at the paper and it was subtraction with fractions. Not only fractions but where you had to borrow from the whole number…took me a minute to figure out what to do! But all in all we figured it out and the homework was completed. We helped put the kids to bed and were sleeping by 10pm.
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Creamy Chicken and Wild Rice Soup
I have never made soup before (that I could remember) and found a recipe someone gave me two years ago. It turned out a little bit thicker than I remember it but the taste was still really good. Here's the recipe if you want to give it a try.
Ingredients:
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 cooked, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded
1 (4.5 ounces) package quick cooking long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 cups heavy cream (1/2-1/2 cream is good)
Directions:
1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth, water, and chicken. Bring just to boiling, then stir in rice, reserving seasoning packet. Cover and remove from heat.
2. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, and flour. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in contents of seasoning packet until mixture is bubbly. Reduce heat to low, then stir in flour mixture by tablespoons, to form a roux. Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir cream mixture into broth and rice. Cook over medium heat until heated through, 10-15 minutes.
Makes 8 servings.
Ingredients:
4 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
2 cooked, boneless chicken breast halves, shredded
1 (4.5 ounces) package quick cooking long grain and wild rice with seasoning packet
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter (1 stick)
2 cups heavy cream (1/2-1/2 cream is good)
Directions:
1. In a large pot over medium heat, combine broth, water, and chicken. Bring just to boiling, then stir in rice, reserving seasoning packet. Cover and remove from heat.
2. In a small bowl, combine salt, pepper, and flour. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, melt butter. Stir in contents of seasoning packet until mixture is bubbly. Reduce heat to low, then stir in flour mixture by tablespoons, to form a roux. Whisk in cream, a little at a time, until fully incorporated and smooth. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes.
3. Stir cream mixture into broth and rice. Cook over medium heat until heated through, 10-15 minutes.
Makes 8 servings.
Sunday, January 17, 2010
I heart Ricky and I heart Hugh
The Golden Globes on tonight made me think of my favorite award show opening number. It was the 2009 Oscars hosted by Hugh Jackman. Still to this day I will sing "Reader...I know I need to see The Reader..." See the clip here on You Tube.
Hugh Jackman- Oscars 2009
To make it even better- another one of my favorite award show clips is Jimmy Fallon at the Emmy's. I laugh every time I see this clip. Didn't realize until I watched it again tonight that he was giving an award for "Original Music and Lyrics" in which the opening number with Hugh Jackman won. Bonus!
Jimmy Fallon at the Emmys
Hugh Jackman- Oscars 2009
To make it even better- another one of my favorite award show clips is Jimmy Fallon at the Emmy's. I laugh every time I see this clip. Didn't realize until I watched it again tonight that he was giving an award for "Original Music and Lyrics" in which the opening number with Hugh Jackman won. Bonus!
Jimmy Fallon at the Emmys
Friday, January 15, 2010
Tuesday, January 5, 2010
Time flies when you're an adult
We're now in our last week of being in FL. We arrived on the 18th of December so we're going on week three. It's been a lot of fun but I'm ready to be back in Mississippi. I'm heading to Baltimore this Wednesday for a day and we'll head back to MS on Friday. 3 states in 2 days- love those trips (sarcastically said). It's funny how when the trip begins three weeks seems like a magical time to get everything done and everyone seen. Now with tomorrow being my last full day here I feel as if I am scrambling to get everything in. Where does the time go? So tomorrow I shall go return our FL tags, close our bank account, visit with Pastor Tom, fit in some couponing, go over to the old house, have dinner with Michael's parents, and somewhere in there get my stuff together for Baltimore.
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