12.12.08 friends food farewells

We decided that today would be Stass' last day attending school. So she made these 'thank you for being my friend' cards to give to each of her classmates. She decorated them and wrote on them all by herself.

We have really been blessed to have two wonderful teachers this year looking after her class. They really are the kind that go above and beyond the call of duty putting in lots of extra time to care for the students. So we gave each teacher and their husbands, a movie pack that I put together.

Here's how to make a quick one:
Step One:
Buy these plastic popcorn holders from Coles


Step Two:
Fill each one with candy bars to snack on during the movie (or make your own alternative healthy snacks to pop in there)

Step Three:
Add in the adult movie tickets

Step Four:
Wrap in cellophane or foil wrap with a nice ribbon and card
And each year our mother's group has an end of year party; they understand our family doesn't observe Christmas and so refrain from making it in that theme which is really lovely for us. We all give a small family present and card just to say thank you to each other for loving and supporting one another throughout the course of the year. It is a beautiful thing.
This year I made low salicylate ginger bread (without ginger) men. They were big ones and had one for each person in the family. I typed out the recipe I used and added it as part of the gift.
I also bought some fridge magnets from Camera House and then added the family surname to each one in those tiny Making Memories mini letters just up in each corner. That way each family could choose which fave family shot they wanted to slot into the magnetic frames.



Here is the cake that Brett made last night and it was so good!



Here are our beautiful friends Heiko and Lori

and me with the beautiful Sharon who left church last week with her 4 gorgeous homeschooled children (one coming on the way! She is 5 weeks ahead of me). We will miss them so much and they have been such an encouragement to me. PS: Diane I can't believe how small the world is!!!

And here's the low salicylate gingerbread men (without the ginger!) recipe from Sue Dengate's Fed Up book:

Gingerbread Men

Ingredients:

125g Nuttelex
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup golden syrup
3tsp bicarb soda
1 egg
3 cups plain flour

Method:

Preheat oven to 160 degrees celcius.
Dissolve nuttelex, sugar & golden syrup in the microwave.
When lukewarm, stir in bicarb soda & egg. Place flour in bowl, make a well in the centre to add other
ingredients. Knead to form a dough, roll out on floured
surface & cut into gingerbread shapes. Cook for 15 mins.

So today is the end of an era for our family; the last time I make the trip to school to pick Stass up. The last time I say 'thank you' to her teacher and the last time I ask her if she's remembered to pick up everything! lol :) But while she was sad (completely normal) for a little while, we all have God's peace that this is the right decision for our family. She has been asking tonight if we can do homeschooling work tomorrow! lol :)

5 things I am thankful for today:

1. for Arley dropping in some gorgeous baby clothes

2. a lovely encouraging chat with Christina

3. my dear friend Gail Oates

4. brett working hard for our family and still having enough time to come home + rumble with the boys

5. Philipians 4:8

Lus x