The Robertson Home...a flurry of activities!

As most of you know, we are preparing to leave home on Tuesday to embark on a ten-week mission trip to Alaska. I can't describe the emotions that run through me on a minute to minute basis, and I'm thankful that amid all the confusion (i.e. packing!) going on in our home, that I can stay in constant communication with my Heavenly Father.

Apple pie crescents...pie filling, crescent rolls, and cinnamon!
YUMMY!

Today has been filled with many projects, a long to-do list (that won't be completed today!), and some fun times with my children. Chandler was the treat bringer for his 4-k class today, and I forgot about it until about 7p.m. last night. At that moment, I didn't want to stop after church with the kids to pick something up, so I got up at 5a.m. this morning to bake treats for his school. Since I'm trying to clean out my fridge and pantry, options were limited! However, I came up with a delicious recipe that I'm sure I'll make again. I've included photos and the ingredient list in this post.

Following the treat making, I enjoyed my coffee, writing in my journal, and reading my Bible. My mama called and graciously offered to teach Garett kindergarten, so I could continue to work on projects and house cleaning. (Thank-God for mamas!). At 8 am. the neighbor dropped off her little boy for the day. (I've been watching him on Tuesdays and Thursdays). This is my last time watching him, and there are four little boys that are going to really miss baby Lane! After the baby was put down for his morning nap, I started in on making strawberry/rhubarb jam, only to realize that my potato masher was broken, so I couldn't mash the berries and rhubarb up as well as I would have liked. So, I pulled out the blender, threw it all in there and blended it up. It worked great, however, my children thought I was making smoothies, so everyone had to come and sample the mixture! Finally, finished up that task!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Jam



Spices in a pill box!

I've also been trying to figure out how to take up spices that I need for cooking and baking, without dragging along the whole container. My wonderful husband suggested that I get a large pill box from the pharmacy and put the spices that I don't need a lot of in there. It worked perfectly! I put spices and seasonings that I don't use alot of, but might need, such as poppy seed, paprika, cumin, cream of tarter, and other such spices in each compartment, and viola...perfect!

After picking up Chandler from 4K, we headed off to pick up Garett from my parents house. I had decided that we needed to take a trip to the library one more time before our trip, so off we trotted to the library (now with five little boys in tow!). We went to a little library in a neighboring town, and I loved it! The librarians were great with the kids, (they actually LIKE children to come to the library, unlike the one in our local town!). We stayed at the library for over an hour until Travis was starting to use the the stuffed animals for a pillow, and Wyatt was asking me to read to him...a sure sign that he is tired! Hooray for home and nap time!

Boys at the library...beautiful fall day!

Seven jars of camel sauce...
DELICIOUS!!

Another project I've been trying to accomplish before leaving is getting Christmas presents together for the kids teachers. I made a small batch of carmel sauce earlier this week, and I really liked how it turned out and tasted. So, I tripled the recipe, got out my canning jars again, and whipped up  seven jars of carmel sauce for Christmas presents. One more thing done...yay!

I'm about ready for bed, however, we are off to the Christmas parade in town tonight. The kids are really excited about going, but I'm sure it's because of the candy, not the parade! My parents are taking the kids overnight tonight, so Roger and I can pack the bags tomorrow (without HELP...spelled KIDS). The boys have been dragging out all kinds of things that we "need to bring" to Alaska, so I'll be relieved to have the clothes at least packed up tomorrow.

So, in a nutshell, that's what we've been working on and we are making progress towards leaving on Tuesday!