Pineapple-Banana Cake

Good Tuesday morning!

The Gallery Pic today is one more Mystery Bag Party photo of Melissa, Melaney and Janet. I love the Botanical Gardens. Having your pictures made there just enhances your natural beauty, don't you think? Not that we're not gorgeous on our own, but you can't go wrong with a little fall foliage in the background. Am I right?

Today was a major disappointment for Josh. This is the third time a JV football game has been cancelled due to weather. They've only gotten to play three games, plus the Jamboree at the beginning of the season. And next week is the last game. I forgot to mention in my Friday post... Not only does it rain many Friday nights in Alabama during football season, but it rains many Monday nights, also. It has been very, very frustrating for Josh and the other players and the cheerleaders. They have all worked very hard this season, and their hard work has literally been washed away.

I will now give an Honorable Mention to the band. Even though I do not have a band member at this time, they too have been unable to play several times this season (one of them being Friday night at Homecoming). Yes, "frustration" is the word for the day in the Faulkner household.

NOTE TO FRANKIE, JOAN AND ROBIN - I left all of you comments in yesterday's Comment Section. Please read your messages there. Also, Joan and Robin need to enter to Contest! You've already left a comment. Now leave one that gets your names put in that bowl, please.

I haven't really come up with a topic for the week, but there was something in my Bible I wanted to share with you today. I've been saving it for such a time as this (as Beth Moore would say in her Esther Bible Study).

It is taken from such an odd verse, too. "Obed the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of David." Ruth 4:22.

"No words in the book of Ruth speak more eloquently about redemption than the final words. Ruth, a foreigner from Moab, becomes the great-grandmother of David, Israel's most celebrated king. God longs to redeem ordinary women for extraordinary purposes. (WOW!)

"Ruth's story is an invitation to make a commitment to faithfulness, to willingly obey in the most overwhelming circumstances. And Ruth's story is a promise that the Redeemer-God has chosen us, is committed to us and sent His Son to be obedient, even to death, that he might redeem us.

The book of Ruth reveals God's delight in radical outcomes!" And then underneath the little devotion in my Bible I wrote, "God's plan for us is never ordinary." (Keep in mind I was writing what Pastor Kevin was saying. I didn't have that little tidbit of insight on my own. Just giving credit where credit is due!)

Now who was the person who came up with such a wonderful devotion from such a little verse. There isn't anything wrong with the verse, but to me it was more historical and informational in nature than inspirational. (Lots of big words in that sentence, weren't there?) I love it. It's just a reminder to me that God can use any verse, even a seemingly "ordinary" verse like Ruth 4:22, to help us remember He loves using the ordinary to make extraordinary things happen.

5 Things To Do When Kids Say, "I'm Bored!"

Just a note here... Whenever my kids would say they were bored, I would hand them a bottle of Pine-Sol and a toilet scrubbing brush. It was amazing how many things they could find to occupy their time when a dirty toilet was looming in their future. But these things are good, too!

6. Fill a sink with soapy water, spoons, egg beaters and plastic dishes to occupy little ones while Mom cooks. (This one really works. I used to do it all the time, but we used jungle animals and dinosaurs. They would play for at least an hour.)

7. Paint a rock with tempera paint.

8. Build a dollhouse by stacking five shoe boxes or cardboard boxes to resemble a two-story house with a garage. Paint and decorate.

9. Hide a kitchen timer and have your child search for it by listening to the ticking sound.

10. Make a design with a hole punch in a paper plate. String a shoelace through the holes. (I've done this one, too. But instead of a paper plate, I would take a coloring book page, Barbie or Spiderman, and mat the page on a larger piece of construction paper. I would punch holes around the mat. The kids would get to color and then play with the lace-up card they had made themselves.)

Pineapple-Banana Cake

This recipe came from my friend, Amy Patillo. She talked about baking this cake on Facebook one day last week (I think), and when I requested the recipe for A Simple Life, she sweetly complied. It's in the oven as I type, and it smells wonderful. Thank you, Amy.

3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups granulated sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking soda
3 eggs
1 1/2 cups vegetable oil
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 large bananas (diced, not mashed)
1 8-ounce can crushed pineapple (undrained)

1. Mix all dry ingredients together.

2. Add eggs, oil, vanilla and mix.

3. Add bananas and crushed pineapple. Mix well and pour into greased bundt pan. Cook at 350 degrees for 1 hour 10 minutes.

4. You can also sprinkle pecans in the bottom of the pan before pouring in the mixture.

I told you it sounded good, didn't I? I told Amy on Facebook my house smells like Hawaii. And since I've never been to Hawaii, I'm just assuming that's how Hawaii would smell. (If you've been, don't tell me if I'm wrong. If I never go, I don't want my image to be tarnished.)

Have a fun Tuesday. Tomorrow we have more things for your bored kids to do, as well as the Seasonal Tradition AND Wednesday Wisdom. Don't forget to enter the Contest. Thursday will be here before you know it! Busy day on the blog.

Take care, and I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda