Thank you Pinterest

Pinterest is what all the cool kids are doin'!!  It's the latest craze and, in this case, its ok to go against the old saying 'would you jump off a bridge if everyone else did?!?!' Yes, jump, take a look, get sucked in like many of the people I know!! Pinterest is basically like an online catalog/blog where you can browse for practically anything!! If you are looking for a recipe, type it in and Pinterest collects all the 'pins' that have a reference to your search and presents them to you.  You then click on the picture that looks most like what you want and it will take you to a link where you can get a recipe!! If you are trying to decorate your child's nursery, type it in.  Table setting, type it in.  Birthday party ideas, type it in. I will never have to stress about my non-crafty brain thanks to pinterest! Ok so I needed a centerpiece!!

Here is my November craft!

Carve out a small pumpkin making sure you pick a pumpkin that sits pretty evenly on a table so your centerpiece doesn't sit crooked! Insert a plastic cup inside. The cup that will allow you to water real flowers (if you choose to make this with real flowers) or protect your silk flowers from pumpkin goo so you can re-use this next year!

Get something like this to arrange your flowers with:

Stick your flowers where you want them:

After you are done arranging, place the block of floral styrofoam in the cup and...TA DA.....

It was perfect for Thanksgiving!  Side note, the carved pumpkin only stays fresh for a few days so this is something you will want to make close to the date in which you need it.  Rotting, soggy pumpkins are not pleasant at the table!!

I am two for two this holiday season!! I am gonna go for a trifecta and craft in December....stay tuned!

5 month old little chubby ghosts

I love looking at Pinterest!! If you read this blog you know I am a novice when it comes to crafting so I do a lot of 'repinning' on Pinterest with the hopes I actually try out the things I pin.  October and November have made me feel abnormally crafty so here you go!!  Having a new baby also has made me want to mark each holiday with some sort of evidence of Jackson's growth. 

First you need a pair of these:

Then I painted a small canvas black and smothered those little feet in some washable white paint and with the help of my mom pressed his feet onto the canvas.  I truly thing this part requires 2 sets of hands.  Babies are unusually strong....sometimes I am SURE Jackson is stronger than me.

I added the eyes by dipping the opposite end of the paint brush in black paint! It made it super easy.  I used orange puff paint to write the greeting

Notice the cup of coffee....I think that should be added to your list of 'supplies'.  I added little ghost heads to the corners because they felt bare.  I don't like empty space.

Then it needs a ribbon to hang it with.  I used some old ribbon I had laying around the house, it happened to have wire boning but any ribbon would do.  I attached it using a hot glue gun.  Don't forget to date the feet prints on the back.

And finally here is the finished product!!! This was fun and I just LOVE his chubby little feet!!

Happy Crafting!

Happy Thanksgiving

'Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good.' Psalm 136:1

'Give thanks to the Lord, call on his name; make known among the nations what he has done.'

1 Chronicles 16:8

Happy Thanksgiving from the Takemoto's.  May today be full of reflection on the things the Lord has done for you and those you love.  He deserves all the praise!  We are so thankful.



Pumpkin Pie and Candied Yam Recipes - Tis the Season

I am not much of a kitchen dweller.  So much so that before I got married, I rarely cooked a meal.  My old roommate Kelly (who is a whiz in the kitchen) can attest to that.  I used to buzz around the kitchen like a vulture waiting for a meal to drop and because my roommate was (and is) so wonderful, she would always make enough of whatever she was making for me.  Bless her, because I did not starve, gain 100 pounds from fast food and hey, I even learned a little.  Kelly, if you are reading, thank you!  I am happy to report that I have gotten much better since getting married!

My man is fearless in the kitchen and I have my MIL to thank for that!! So, Mama Kim, thank you!  J and I had an upcoming 'friendsgiving' to cook for and we had to provide the dessert last minute.  For someone like me, my shopping cart steers straight to the bakery to pick me up a pie.....for someone like my hubs, he hops online right there in the store and his shopping cart hits the aisles with all the essentials to make a pie.  So my fearless husband held my hand while we baked pies and candied yams, saint!  I thought I would share our recipes because our pies and candied yams turned out AMAZING!!

This picture is to prove that my friends and I have turned into adults that can actually make a decent meal!! Happy Friendsgiving!!

Our candied yam recipe is my mother in law's recipe and it is BY FAR the best way to serve your yams....just don't think about the ingredients, they are not for the faint of heart.

Candied Yam
**serving about 6 people depending on how many yams they eat**

• 3 large yams - they get quartered
• 1 stick of butter
• 3/4 cup of granulated white sugar
• 3/4 cup of light brown sugar
• 9X13 pan
• turkey baster

Preheat oven to 270 degrees
Peel and boil yams until almost soft
Depending on the size, half or quarter the cooked yams. Arrange pieces in 9X13 pan(s)
In a separate bowl mix the 2 types of sugar
After the sugars are mixed pour over the yams evenly making sure each one has some
Cut the stick of butter so that each yam has a square of butter on it (yes, you read that right - remember, not for the faint of heart)
Cook in the oven at 270 for 4-5 hours basting the yams every hour in the sugary butter, this will help them candy
Serve warm!

Pumpkin Pie
~From allrecipes.com

• 1 (9 inch) unbaked deep dish pie crust
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
• 2 eggs
• 1 (15 ounce) can LIBBY'S® 100% Pure Pumpkin
• 1 (12 fluid ounce) can NESTLE® CARNATION® Evaporated Milk
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.               
•  Combine sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and cloves in small bowl. Beat eggs lightly in large bowl. Stir in pumpkin and sugar-spice mixture. Gradually stir in evaporated milk. Pour into pie shell.               
• Bake for 15 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 degrees F.; bake for 40 to 50 minutes or until knife inserted near center comes out clean. Cool on wire rack for 2 hours. Serve immediately or refrigerate. (Do not freeze as this will cause the crust to separate from the filling.)               

Snapfish Picture Deal

You know you are a mommy when the memory card on your camera is always FULL.  You know you are a first time mommy when the memory card on your camera is full with what appears to be 500 of the same picture and you can't delete any of them! I am guilty of the latter.  I have good news.  Snapfish is having an awesome prints sale that is going on until November 6, 2011.

Drumroll.....100 prints for $1 or 300 prints for $3.  Keep in mind they get you with shipping but I did some research and this deal (even with the shipping) is much cheaper that Costco.

Check out this Snapfish link to get all those pictures printed.

You are welcome!

Yay Snapfish

Bloggers Block, Bible Study and a Baby

Its been 12 days since I have blogged. *Sad* There has been so much going on yet I can't seem to get any of it to come out right on here....I have a case of bloggers block.  You can stop now because there is no telling if this post will be anything worth reading.

Almost 2 years ago, the Lord called and allowed me to lead a small group of ladies at my home on Tuesdays nights.  What a wild ride to think He would use me to lead a small group - Glory!  We have done 6 in-depth studies and the Lord has done amazing things with us.  We have been as small as 8 and as large as 21....21 women loving Jesus in my living room, we almost made the walls fall like Jericho during that study!  We have seen prayers answered and many many holy provision.  We are in the midst of Beth Moore's - Believing God study and that is another reason why I have not been on the blog as of late. 

If you have ever done a Beth Moore study you know why something like this could keep me away from the blog.  Studies of this nature require full attention and frankly, I do want to do anything else; it is so good.  This study truly has been a 'fresh explosion of faith'.  I believe we are never in a study by chance.  God knows what each of our seasons call for and He ensures our needs are met - EVERY TIME.  This study has been for my particular season, Praise You Lord.

 And as usual, this guy has been keeping me from the blog.

He is growing at the speed of light.  Look at that face, doesn't it bring so much joy?  He is at the age where interaction is key.  While it is important for him to have independent play time, its crucial for him to learn to interact with people - enter playtime with Mommy.  We have been reading lots....well I have been reading to him and he has been doing this with his books

We started rice cereal and this man loves it!!! I knew he was gonna be an eater! He eats 6 teaspoons of cereal mixed with breast milk a day along with about 30 ounces of milk via the bottle throughout a day. We have kept his normal bottle feedings as of right now because there isn't much nutrients in rice cereal. He is a happy little man!

We also had a our first 'holiday' photo shoot.  This will be the first on many.

My little pumpkin man!! Its ok if you want to squeeze his cheeks, they are so cute!  My mine is already planning his Christmas pictures....I am thinking lots of presents around him...hmmmmm.

Well, that explains my absence from the blog.  Thanks for stickin' around to read it.  I am already thinking of my next post and I don't plan on it being 12 days away.