It was quite a week!

Last week was an exciting and eventful week for the Sanchez family....

On Monday, Roland did his final (public) ordination council....

On Thursday, we sold this house......
And on Friday, we bought this house!

What a fun week to see God work in so many specific ways!
We had the home inspections done today on both houses and so now we just wait to get the reports from each of them. If all goes well, we would close on May 23rd!

Releasing our butterflies

We've been studying insects in science and so about a month ago we ordered caterpillars to watch their metamorphosis. We got 5 tiny little caterpillars. We watched them eat and grow and eventually form their chrysalises. Sadly, one died in caterpillarhood. But the rest we raised to beautiful painted lady butterflies. We had been waiting for the weather to warm up so we could release them. Well, today we decided was the perfect day. The kids had fun holding them. looking at them and playing with them til they finally flew away. They stayed in our yard, though, for quite a while.

Got an offer...

After 5 showings in 5 days, we got an offer on the house yesterday. Because he offered significantly less than our asking price, we countered this evening. We thought we wouldn't hear back until tomorrow but we got the call tonight that he accepted our price! If the house inspection is approved, we have a closing date of May 23rd. whew! It's gone much faster than we anticipated. Praise God!
Tomorrow, we make an offer on the house that we'd like to buy. (It's been on the market for about 9 months. It was the very first house we looked at last fall.) So, we'll see what the Lord does....

Our house is on the market!

After a long winter (and spring!) of waiting, we finally got our house on the market again. We wrestled with the idea of trying to sell it ourselves again, but decided that we would have our friend, Dustin Greenup, sell it for us. So now we wait some more... : )

Our new van

The Sanchez family has a new vehicle. After much deliberation, we settled on another mini-van. It's a 2002 Town and Country. I'm not gonna be able to give you all the specs-engine size, MPG, RPMs, but I will tell you the most important feature. Well, perhaps it's not THE most important one, but it certainly is pretty cool. It has a remote door locker thing and an automatic door opener button. : ) What more could you want?

Favorite books

I have a confession to make. I'm a sucker for a book list. Honey for a Child's Heart is one of my favorite and most frequently used books. It lists great books for a variety of ages and interests. (I order the books online, from the library,and they just show up on the pick-up shelf a few days later with MY name on them!) But I don't limit myself to Honey for a Child's Heart. I love browsing the Sonlight reading list, the Veritas Press catalog, lists I get from homeschooling workshops, etc.
There's nothing better than snuggling up in a blanket with the kids on a chilly day and reading chapter after chapter. My kids have a chant they say when I say I'm done. They all shout "Read on! Read on! Read on!" And usually I fall for it. "Okay, just one more chapter..."
So, anyway, in case anyone else likes book lists, I thought I would put together a short list of the Sanchez family favorites. Happy reading!

Lamplighter Publishers
Mary Jones and her Bible
Little Sir Gallahad
The Open Door
Teddy's Button
Nobody Loves Me
Christie's Old Organ
Me and Nobles

The Child's Story Bible
Stepping Heavenward by Elizabeth Prentiss
The Trailblazer Books by Dave and Neta Jackson
The Kingdom Series by Chuck Black
Little Pilgrim's Progress By Helen Taylor
Missionary Stories with the Millers
Wisdom and the Millers
The Tinker's Daughter by Wendy Lawton
Hero Tales by Dave and Neta Jackson
The Journey to the Cross
The Chronicles of Narnia
They Would not be Moved

Little House on the Prairie
Charlotte's Web
Cricket in Times Square
The Secret Garden
Anne of Green Gables
They Loved to Laugh

For younger kids
Read Aloud Bible Stories
The Lamb by John R. Cross

A few of my favorites
Safely home by Randy Alcorn
Evidence Not Seen by Darlene Rose
More Love to Thee by Elizabeth Prentiss
The Quest for Meekness and Quietness of Spirit by Matthew Henry
If I Perish by Esther Ahn Kim

Homemade ice cream

Roland and I got an electric ice cream maker for Christmas. I've been enjoying experimenting with different recipes and add-ins. We've made mint chocolate chip, brownie chocolate, strawberry. They've all been good, but I just made a batch today that is, by far, my favorite. It really is to die for...if you love peanut butter, that is. (How all 3 of my kids are allergic to peanut butter I do not understand! Perhaps I ate too much of it while I was pregnant with them! LOL) Anyway, it's rich and creamy and I'm sure very low fat. : ) Here's the recipe if you wanna try it:

Peanut butter ice cream
Cream:
1 cup peanut butter with 2/3 cup sugar
Add:
2 1/2 cups half and half
2 tsp. vanilla
Put in ice cream maker for approx. 25 min.
Add chopped Reese's.

Mmmm... enjoy!