Sugar-Free Rhubarb Pie

Good Tuesday morning!

The Gallery Pics today are of Austin, Melia, my nephew, Brad, and his girlfriend, Stephanie. Normally, there would be five times the pictures of these good-looking couples in the Gallery, but we were rained out 42 minutes after arriving. You have to admit, the ones I did take were very pretty!

RANDOMNESS #1 - Is there anything worse than being home with a sick 13 year-old girl who is MISSING the first day of volleyball tryouts? You don't have to answer the question. I know the answer. Roxie is much better this morning, so we're looking forward to a new day and tryouts with the six graders this afternoon. We will be on pins and needles until the "cut" list comes out tonight.

RANDOMNESS #2 - I have been reading a blog of a girl who has a cool idea. She takes one picture every morning of something going on in her life. (She has had pictures of her breakfast plate, snow, sleeping kids, messy rooms, messier hair, etc.) It doesn't sound interesting yet, does it? Wait! There's more.

She has a friend who lives in Germany. Her friend takes a morning picture from her German home and they post them at the same time each day. It is very interesting. Some things are so similar (sleeping kids, messy beds, toys scattered here and there, etc.), and some things are so very different (their breakfast, flowers in window boxes, bicycles used for transportation, the weather, etc.). It's a fun way to look at someone's life in another country.

Okay. Here's my situation. Needless to say, this blog has planted a seed, and I want to try this. Right now, the only people I know in other countries are Jeff and Sara in Canada, and an old church friend from 22 years ago who now lives in Spain with his wife and small child. (I'm a little limited in the "international friend" department.)

Jeff and Sara are super busy doing God's work and raising two small children, so I would never ask them to commit to a daily picture. My other friend and I have been out of touch for over two decades and just reconnected (sort of) on Facebook, so I don't even know how he feels about taking pictures at all, much less on a daily basis.

It's a dilemma, I tell you. I've enjoyed Project 365, but I thought it might be fun to do something a little different for my 49th year on this planet. We'll see what happens.

Q & A! Q & A! Q & A! - Okay. Today I'll finish answering yesterday's question... briefly!

QUESTION - What does your family budget look like?

ANSWER - As far as percentages go, we tithe 10 percent. The rest of our money pays the bills and goes directly into the envelopes. (See yesterday's post.)

I will say we got rid of all of our individual store credit cards a long time ago. We have one major credit card we use for gas, emergencies, etc., and the goal is to pay it off monthly.

I've taken Carmen's Coupon Class, and I'm getting ready to save hundreds of dollars over the next year on groceries. No, really. I am.

Josh recently totaled a truck we had planned on him driving until he graduated. (No payments.) We will now be looking for another vehicle which we had not planned at this time. We will always put money in our envelopes, but there are times we may have to put less money away because of unforeseen expenses. We have to be flexible because sometimes "Life" visits and it hasn't read my blog to know the Big Financial Plan for the Faulkner Five!

One thing I will say is Mike and I try to save for even big purchases. It took us five years to save for our first Disney trip, but we stayed six days in the park and did everything. It took Mike eight years to save for a used fish and ski boat, and while we haven't had it very long, we use it a lot (tubing and/or fishing).

We tent camp AT LEAST once a year because it is by far the most affordable vacation we've come across in our 22 years of marriage (and Mike and the kids LOVE it).

One last thing, and we'll move to a new question for tomorrow. We give each child $35 a month. Out of this $35, they have to tithe (10%), save (10%) and pay for their own haircuts. The rest is used as their spending, shopping, souvenir money for trips, etc. When Austin started working (cutting lawns and Chick-Fil-A), we no longer gave him $35 a month. The same is true for Joshua (cutting lawns).

I always recommend the book Debt Proof Your Kids by Mary Hunt. It is an amazing book about teaching your kids how to have a "financially confident life." It is very specific and easy to read... and it doesn't matter how old your kids are when you start implementing her ideas. Any age is good!

I hope this answered at least part of your question. If not, you can fuss at me in the Comment Section!

SPECIAL GUEST - DONNIE RHODES - PART TWO - Are you ready for more Donnie? I thought so!

12. What is your family's favorite meal you prepare?

Spaghetti.

13. Shoe lover or purse lover?

Shoe. (I'm very glad he said "shoe.")

14. If you could remove someone's burden and take it as your own, whose burden would it be?

Tough question, but it would probably be my brother.

15. Where is your "happy place?"

Anywhere with my family in my arms. (I won't touch this answer. Perfect.)

16. Name a fond childhood memory.

Traveling with my dad. (Where? Where did you go with your dad?)

17. Who are you most like... your mother or your father?

Great mixture of both, but everyone says my dad.

18. Did you grow up in a small church or a large church?

Both. (Details, man! We want details!)

19. What is your favorite holiday, and why?

New Year's because I just chill and hang with the family. (I like this answer. Most women will answer Christmas, Thanksgiving or Easter. I don't know if I've ever heard a woman say New Year's was her favorite holiday. But Donnie's right. It's a very nice "chill" day. I think I may move New Year's up to my second favorite holiday.)

20. You are at home ALL day long by yourself with no car. Do you go stir crazy or thoroughly enjoy every minute of the day?

Stir crazy.

See what I did up there with the ()? I do that a lot. It's what I would say if I was actually talking to someone in person... which I'm not. (I have got to get out more.) Tomorrow I'll be sharing more of Donnie's in-depth interview. He answered a ton of questions which I really appreciate since he is such a busy guy! Tune in for more on Wednesday!

Backyard Bible Club Devotion #1 - The Tongue

This devotion was copied from Marie Stroughter.

This is a memorable activity to teach children about the impact of our words!

Scripture Basis - James 3:8-10. "But no one can tame the tongue; it is a restless evil and full of deadly poison. With it we bless our Lord and Father; and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way?"

Concept - Once our words are spoken, we cannot take them back.

You will need the following materials:

Toothpaste
Paper plate
Food coloring (optional)

Activity - Give each child a tube of trial-sized toothpaste. Have the kids "splurt" the toothpaste onto a paper plate. You can put a drop of food color, if desired, and let the kids fingerpaint for a few minutes before you begin the devotion.

Instruct the children to put the toothpaste back into the tube.

"Can you? Is it easy or hard? Why or why not?"

Read the scripture to the kids. Ask them to put it in their own words. After you have talked about the power of the "tongue" (both good and evil), be sure to use this little devotion to talk about name calling, gossiping, etc.

This exercise can also be done with a feather pillow, a water balloon or any other object which would be impossible to reconstruct. If using a feather pillow, be sure no one has allergies or asthma. Toothpaste is easiest because of the clean up! (And I'm all about the clean up!)

That's it! Bring the snacks out on the deck. Let the kids eat, run and play. Make sure you let them know when your next Club Meeting will be held. This devotion will take about five minutes out of your busy day, but will plant a seed which could last a lifetime.

Sugar-Free Rhubarb Pie

That's right. Jennifer not only sent me a pie, a tart AND fresh rhubarb, but she sent me a recipe... and I want you ALL to try it!

You will need the following:

1 graham cracker pie crust
3 cups green or red rhubarb
1 large package sugar-free strawberry Jell-O
1 1/2 cups milk
1 small package sugar-free instant vanilla pudding

1. Strip outside skin of rhubarb (to prevent stringy texture).

2. Cut rhubarb into small pieces.

3. Microwave rhubarb 6 to 8 minutes on high. Stir every 2 minutes.

4. Stir in Jell-O until dissolved. Cool completely.

5. Combine pudding and milk. Beat on low speed for 2 minutes.

6. Fold into rhubarb mixture. Spoon into pie crust. Cover and refrigerate until firm.

VARIATION #1 - Add whipped cream for a creamy flavor.

VARIATION #2 - Add red food coloring if you want the pie red instead of pink.

Enjoy!

Have a wonderful Tuesday. I will be sharing Wednesday Wisdom, a Seasonal Tradition, Part Three of Donnie's interview, some Randomness (think lizards from the sky), and more Gallery pics. My goodness! Even I would come back for that!

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

Sincerely,

The Enchanting Belinda