Be Still Sunday

Winners of my Give a way

Well my husband drew the names of the winners for the books. The winners are Paula and Patti. Please email me at jenbrandes@frontiernet.net to let me know where to send them. Congratulations to you both. Thank you so much to all who entered. I will be having another one soon.

Getting to Know Us!

I got this from Sondra over at Diary of a SAHM and thought it looked like so much fun. We blog a lot of times about ourselves and tend to leave our better halves out. So here goes.....

1. Who is your man? Matthew, he works for a company that makes *thingies* LOL that go in power stations for our electricity. At least I remembered that! But most importantly he has been called into ministry and will begin classes on Tuesday for his BA in Biblical Studies with a minor in Ministry.

2. How long have you been together? almost 6 years (10-12-02) But we met on the computer a month before actually going on our first date...more on that down further!

3. How long dated? 3 years almost to the day, we were married 11-05-05.

4. How old is your man? 38

5. Who eats more? He does, BUT there is that one week......LOL lets not go there.

6. Who said "I love you" first? He did....funny story...we met through one of those computer dating things and talked on the computer a lot. After we met face to face we continued to talk on the computer....if anyone has used the instant message you will know what I'm talking about...at the bottom of the screen you can see if someone is typing...the first time he said I love you it was on there....what I saw was....{Matt is typing} stop....{Matt is typing} stop...You get the picture. Then came I...more typing and stopping....L....ect. LOL He FINALLY got it out. I love you Honey!!!

7. Who is taller? He is just a bit taller than me...OK a lot taller than me...he is 6'4 and I am 5'4.

8. Who sings better? I do....BUT he is improving alot! People are actually sitting in front of us at church now. LOL!

9. Who is smarter? He is by a long shot.

10. Whose temper is worse? Well that depends on what week of the month we are in! Enough said!

11. Who does the laundry? He has started doing it more since my back injury does not allow me to walk up and down stairs....Hey maybe we can move the Washer and dryer upstairs...hmmmm. Note to self....add to "honey do" list.

12. Who takes out the garbage? He usually does...BUT it is one of our children's jobs.

13. Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? I do

14. Who pays the bills? He does

15. Who is better with the computer? Me

16. Who mows the lawn? He does

17. Who cooks dinner? I do

18. Who drives when you are together? I do, I get car sick if I do not drive.

19. Who pays when you go out? Who goes out to eat????? We use the debit.

20. Who is most stubborn? Again....it depends on the week. But I'd have to say him! LOL...I am on the phone with him while typing this.....I defiantly say it is him! LOL

21. Who is the first to admit when they are wrong? Neither....we are usually both wrong.

22. Whose parents do you see the most? Mine, his parents have both passed away.

23. Who kissed who first? He did...much to my surprise, it was so quick I wasn't sure what happened!

24. Who asked who out? He did...but only after a week of prompting about a movie I really wanted to see...."Sweet Home Alabama".

25. Who proposed? He did

26. Who is the most sensitive? We are both very sensitive.

27. Who has more friends? Neither, we are each other's best friends.

28. Who has more siblings? He does, he has 4 brothers and I have 2 sisters and a brother.

29. Who wears the pants in the family? He does.

30. How did you meet? On the Internet through the Yahoo dating. But I only went there on a bet from my sister, she said I could meet a great guy...yeah right on the Internet! Needless to say...choke....my sister was right.

That was a lot of fun! Go ahead and try it out. Let me know so I can read your answers.

Slow Cooking Thursday

Apple Crunch Cobbler

4 MEDUIM-SIZED APPLES, PEELED, CORED, AND SLICED
¼ CUP HONEY
1 TEASPOON GROUND CINNAMON
2 TABLESPOONS MELTED BUTTER
2 CUPS GRANOLA CEREAL, OR HOMEMADE

PLACE APPLES IN BUTTERED SLOW COOKER; COMBINE REMAINING INGREDIENTS AND SPRINKLE OVER APPLES. COVER AND COOK ON LOW 7-9 HOURS OR ON HIGH 3-4 HOURS. SERVE WITH CREAM OR ICE CREAM.

SERVES 4

I usally double or sometimes triple this recipe. I love the way it makes the house smell. I love apple crisp and this is great in the summer and does not heat up the kitchen!

To visit more slow cooking Thursday recipes visit Sondra at Family Corner blog.

It's a GIVE A WAY!!

Hi all!

I am hosting my very first give a way! On my quest to get rid of some of our "stuff" I thought instead of just donating them to the library I would host a give a way with a couple of Christmas craft/cookbooks. I am leaving this open until August 30 at 12:00 pm Eastern Time. All you have to do is leave me a comment and link up to my blog and spread the word. I will have one of my family members draw the names from comments left. I will get the books mailed out September 1 to the winners. I have enjoyed these books for many years, I pray they will be a blessing to you as well. These books are published by Leasure Arts.


Book 1






















Book 2

WFW-Wait on the Lord

Jeremiah 29:11
"For I know the plans I have for you, Declares the Lord, Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."

We live in a society where we have to have things now. It is very hard at times to wait on God to see what he wants us to do. When we get an idea we have to go grab it now. Something does not go our way we get impatient. When we are in pain we want God to take it from us now not later. I've had to come back to this verse many times in the past few months. I know that God has plans for me and it is up to me to wait on God for them to play out. Everything happens in God's time not ours. We may think it is time for something to happen but God isn't ready to reveal his plan to us yet.

To see more WFW posts stop by the 160 acre woods.

Gratituesday

There are so many things I have been grateful for this week. But one that stands out is all of my bloggy friends and even those who do not know how much they bless me daily. A lot of times I go to blogs and read and am so blessed by the words I am led to just sit and meditate on the words that God has led them to write. So many time when I am in the midst of something I, at any given hour, day, week, can go to someones blog and God speaks to me during this time. I have started keeping a daily Bible journal. It goes with me to church and is with me a lot through out the day. I keep prayer requests, sermon notes, and quotes that I read here in bloggy land. So I just wanted to say THANK YOU to all out there in blog land. Even if you do not think anyone reads your blog they do and are blessed by your words.

To read more Gratituesday entries stop by Heavenly Homemakers and read more. Just her site alone will bless you.

I received 2 awards!

I received 2 blogger awards! I gratefully accept these awards. God always knows exactly when you need some sort of pick me up.

I received these from Domestically Inclined. Stop by and read her blog, you will be blessed by her words as I often am. Now it is my turn to nominate others to receive these awards. I am blessed by these women on a daily basis. God uses each one of us each day.

Diary of a SAHM

Shelly's Stuff

The Quiet Pleasures of Home

A Place of Quiet Rest

A Magnolia's Heart Beats

Married to the Preacher

Happy Home

Simple Woman's Day Book

For Today...



Outside my Window... a break from the humidity, a gentle cool breeze with birds singing.



I am thinking... God is so good! Just when you feel he can't not possibly bless you anymore he does! Not only in the good times, but in the bad as well.

From the learning room...since we do our schooling in the dinning room, our learning room is covered in world maps, crafts that the children have made. This year we are using My Father's World curriculum, we love it so far. There are so many activities for all ages.


I am thankful for... my family, everyone has stepped up and helped around the house with a gracious heart.


From the kitchen... canning items. I am making tomato sauce and canning peaches today.


I am wearing... shorts and tshirt


I am reading... The Bible, and The Gooseberry Patch catalog.


I am hoping... This cool weather continues.


I am hearing... the clock ticking, speeding cars flying past our house.


Around the house... laundry to sort and fold.


One of my favorite things... is fall. While driving to Church yesterday we noticed the trees were starting to change already.


A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... Homeschool, the museum next door to us will be having their annual fireworks Saturday, we just sit on our deck and watch them. Sunday at Church we are having our Spaghetti Sunday. Also my 14 yo daughter wants to help me make some peach jam. I'm so excited to have to her want to help me in the kitchen. I treasure these moments with her.


Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... my husband made this shelf for me at Christmas, our cat thinks it is his personal perch! Even still!

To see more Simple Woman Daybooks stop by Peggy's blog.

Be Still Sunday

Foodie Friday

Something that many of you do not know is that I am a HUGE fan of Laura Ingalls Wilder. It all started the same way it has for many other fans, her "Little House" books. I have many of her books. I even have a few cookbooks that feature her recipes. My favorite is "Laura Ingalls Wilder Country Cookbook". Even last year for our homeschool we bought the "Prairie Primer" as curriculum and went through about 4 of her books. I may get it out again this year and do it again. Anyway, as I get older something I really enjoy are the recipes she use to make. One that she is very well known for is her gingerbread recipe, which I have posted below. Each year when it snows for the first time the kids and I make this gingerbread. Its a tradition that I have started with them, let me tell you last year we made it in October! It is so moist, unlike many gingerbread recipes I've tried in the past. I hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

LAURA'S GINGERBREAD
1 cup brown sugar blended with 1/2 cup lard or other shortening.

1 cup molasses mixed well with this.

2 teaspoons baking soda in 1 cup boiling water (Be sure cup is full of water after foam is run off into cake mixture).

Mix all well.

To 3 cups of flour have added one teaspoon each of the following spices: ginger, cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg, cloves; and 1/2 teaspoon salt. Sift all into cake mixture and mix well.

Add lastly 2 well-beaten eggs.

The mixture should be quite thin.

Bake in a moderate oven (I set my oven for 350) for thirty minutes.

Raisins and, or, candied fruit may be added and a chocolate frosting adds to the goodness.

Slow Cooking Thursday

This is easily doubled (which is what I do). Also a great way to use up the bottom of the jar peanut butter. Since we usually always have at least 2 jars almost empty I place the jars in the microwave for a few seconds, add some of the liquid from the recipe and place the top on and shake. Serve with asian noodles or even rice. Our children love it!


Asian Crock Pot

5 teaspoons soy sauce
1 (16 ounce) package frozen Asian veggies
3 tablespoons peanut butter
1 pound chicken breast strips
2 cups orange juice

Add all of your ingredients into a mixing bowl.
Give them a good stir.
Place in your crock-pot on medium heat.
Allow to cook for at least 4 hours and up to 8.
Serve alone or over rice.
Yield: 4 servings

For more Slow cooking entries jump on over and visit Sandra at Diary of a Stay at Home Mom. She has so many yummy recipes on her blog.

Joys and Jelly

The other day my daughter came to me and said I want to learn how to make jelly. I said well it just so happens that I've been wanting to make peppermint jelly with some mint from the garden. So we rounded up the necessary supplies and away we went. It really does my heart well when she wants to do something with me. She is a 14 yo after all. So below is the recipe also with some pictures of the finished product. When we sampled our jelly she said oh you know what we can put this on ice cream and add chocolate chips and have our own peppermint ice cream. Next time I make it I will add more peppermint than it calls for, I like it very strong.

Mint Jelly

1 1/2 Cup firmly packed mint leaves

2 1/4 Cup water

2T lemon juice

3 1/2 Cups sugar

1 pouch of liquid pectin

Green food coloring (opt) I didn't use it

Rinse leaves in colander, chop finely. In large sauce pan combine mint and water. Bring to boil. Remove from heat cover and steep for 10 minutes. Pour into damp cheese cloth over large glass bowl. Let drip until you have 1 3/4 cups of liquid. In deep saucepan, add liquid, lemon juice and sugar, bring to boil over high heat stir often. Stir in pectin boil hard, stir constantly for 1 minute. Add food coloring if using. Remove from heat skim off foam. Place in jars leaving 1/4 inch head space. Process in canner for 10 minutes. Makes about 6 small jelly jars.

Train up a Child...WFW

Proverbs 22:6 "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart from it."

I have to say that this week has not been one of the better homeschool weeks! I know it is because I am kind of grumpy because of my ailments. I'm pretty short with everyone in the house. I've even been kicking around the notion of sending them back to public school. I feel that I am not teaching them the right way, and they are not learning. Then God spoke to my heart yesterday. I've been reading 2 Kings and came across in chapter 3 verse 7, "Now, O Lord my God, You have made Your servant King instead of my father David, but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in." Now I know this is not the context of this verse but the last part where it says, "but I am a little child; I do not know how to go out or come in" really spoke to me, I need to convey to them better what I expect from them. I can not expect the children to do right all the time. I think my expectations are too high for them. Sending them back to school...wrong! Keeping them home where they belong...right!

The picture above is them doing our latitude and longitude dance I came up with so they could remember them. It was set to the music from Saturday Night Fever....LOL. After being in prayer for much of the evening yesterday today was a better day.

To see more Wordfilled Wednesday posts jump on over to The 160 Acre Woods and read other posts or create one for yourself!

Gratituesday

Stop on by Heavenly Homemakers for other Gratituesday entiries. They are very uplifting.

I usually like lists on gratituesday, but you do not need a list for this. I am grateful for the Lords provision and guidance in not only difficult times but good times as well.

Psalm 91:1 says: "He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High Shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty."

It's a virtual Tea PARTY!

I stopped by How do we Get there from here, and saw that she was hosting a great idea, a virtual tea party. I love getting together with friends for tea and fellowship. But it is so hard to get everyone together now a days. SO online there is no excuse, we are all here at least once during the day. Stop by her blog and link up. Then go check out the other tea party participants.

I am so excited because today we're having virtual tea parties, and you're all invited to sneak over to someone else's party, and see what they're doing, starting with mine. You might be blessed and find yourself invited to one or some of them! Here's the goal: on your blog, you answer a few questions or complete lead statements that I have here, submit some pictures if you'd like, link up back at my place (if I can figure that out tonight), and have yourselves a tea-sipping good time together! How does that sound? What we're doing is creating with words and/or pictures a virtual tea party. We'll discover, if you were to throw a party and invite your friends or even us, what your party would look like, what kind of taste you have, how unique (or not) your party would be, etc.

First, tell if you would have a casual tea party or something fancy?

Would yours be a fresh, springy one outdoors like the picture at the top, or would it be an inside fancy set-up like the one above?

I will use (fresh, artificial, or combination flowers)...

I will require my guests to dress...

Children are/are not invited...

I'm inviting (this many) people... (or, are we all invited?)

Would you send out invites, call by phone, or email?

My theme or goal for my party is...

I'm serving (this kind) of tea... and I'm using (loose leaf or bagged)...

I have decorated in this way...

I'm having (low tea or high), therefore the foods I'll serve will be...

I am/am not using edible flowers...

I will be serving other beverages, and they are...

Will you have a poetry reading or tea talk at your party?

I will use (casual, or oriental, or English, or other style) tea ware at my party...

I will give away...

My party will last...

And my answers are:

Come in and relax, we are going to be sitting on our enclosed porch (hey this is virtual!) As you enter the sitting room you smell roses. Like being in the victorian era.

There are 3 round tables set up in various spots on the porch. Each one has a white tablecloth on it, with a candle lit on each.

There are flowers on each table, some are real and some are artifical. The combination adds depth to each arangement. Each arrangement is placed in an old teapot.

I ask that my guests dress comfortable but not too comfortable, no jeans and tshirts or sweats.

This one is just for women. Next time perhaps we will have the children as well.

I am inviting 10 women. That will be a nice comfortable number.

I will send out handmade invitations then a couple of days before I will call them to remind them about the party.

I want all my guests to walk away refreshed. I would also like them to feel that they are back in the victorian era where tea parties were a "thing of the time".

I will be serving a variety of teas, loose and bagged. Not everyone likes the same type of tea.

I have placed flower arrangements on each table, I have a candle on each table and ivy going up the windows with roses placed in the ivy.

I'm having low tea so I will be serving tea cakes and sandwhiches.

I am using edible flowers on top of the tea cakes.

I will also be serving a lite punch for those (gasp) who do not care for tea.

My daughter will be reading poetry through out the afternoon while dressed up as Anne of Green Gables.

I will be using English tea ware at my party. They are just beautiful and go very nicely with the decorations I have chosen.

I will be giving away the tea pot flower arrangements that are on the tables.

My party will last until my guests decide it is time for them to go home. Since we do not get together very often.

SO come in and enjoy yourselves. Invite your friends.

Simple Woman's Day Book

For Today...

Outside my Window... The sun is shining and there is a gentle breeze. It is supposed to be warmer today, I think around 85 degrees.

I am thinking... I can not believe we are in our 3rd week of school already. The children are having a great time, and so am I!

I am thankful for... being on my way to recovery.

From the kitchen... somewhat of a mess. Being unable to keep up on housework ect. But we did get a lot from the garden which is in the picture below.

I am wearing... shorts and a tshirt.

I am reading... The Bible

I am hoping... more like praying....that I will not require surgery on my back.

I am hearing... children playing and having breakfast.

Around the house... again things are pretty much out of order. So that makes me feel out of order.

One of my favorite things... the smell of apple pie.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... get the house back in order, homeschool, library (maybe), pool party with our church family.

Here is a picture(s) thoughts I am sharing with you... veggies from the garden and mint from my herb garden.

Foodie Friday

A while ago I said I was going to post my weekly menus. But with all my health troubles we have been pretty much eating from the freezer. I knew there was a reason I had been cooking double meals and freezing one. We have enough for a couple of weeks. Another blessing is I have a Husband who can and likes to cook. Also our 14 yo daughter loves to be in the kitchen, we just need to keep the spices away from her! LOL especially cumin! So every now and then on Fridays I am going to post a recipe our family really likes.

My Mom used to make this recipe a lot. I just thought it was chocolate cake, which I do not like...I do not care for chocolate. I decided to make this one day when we were learning about the great depression. This cake was very popular during that era. I know the ingredients are very weird but my family LOVED it. This is not my picture I got this from AllRecipes. It looks like they put peanut butter frosting on it....hmmm I might try it then, I LOVVVVE peanut butter!

Crazy Cake
3 cups all-purpose flour

2 cups white sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

3/4 cup vegetable oil (I used canola oil)

2 tablespoons distilled white vinegar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 cups cold water

Directions
Sift flour, sugar, salt, soda, and cocoa together into a 9 x 13 inch ungreased cake pan. Make three wells. Pour oil into one well, vinegar into second, and vanilla into third well. Pour cold water over all, and stir well with fork. Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 to 40 minutes, or until tooth pick inserted comes out clean.

I've received 2 blogger awards!

I'm so excited that I have received 2 blogger awards, Sharing the Love, and Friendship award from Nancy over at More than Conquerors, stop by and read her amazing story. I was very surprised and they could not have come on a better day.

This lovely award is created by Crystal @ Memoirs of a Mommy in honor of Noah and the donor of his sweet little heart who ENCOURAGES us to SHARE THE LOVE ! Thanks Crystal! [Click on Memoirs of a Mommy to learn and read this special love story!] The rules for this award are to pass it along to some people whose blogs you love. They make you laugh, smile, leave encouraging comments on your blog. You would like to share some love with them because they have uplifted, inspired, encouraged or prayed for you. Please include this paragraph with the link to Memoirs of a Mommy so that everyone know where this award originated from.

The second one was The Friendship Award. It meant so much to me that Nancy thought of me and gave me these awards. God knew that I needed a pick me up after the day that I had.

The Friendship Award

Now for a side note about my other doctor's visit for my back. I do not have spinal stenosis. What I have is a break in my L5 vertebre. How I got that is still unknown. It could of happened when I was a baby or when I had my car accident a few years ago. In 2 weeks I will have to go for some more tests that involve a dye test to see how much damage has been done to my nerves. So as you can see these awards came at the right time. Thank you again Nancy! You are a very sweet lady, may God Bless you always.

Word Filled Wednesday

2 Corinthians 12:19 But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me.

Today's WFW is about how God is with you no matter what you are going through. This verse came to mind while traveling to the hospital. This morning I woke up with the worse pain I have ever felt! I thought it was my back again, because the pain was in my lower right side. I waited as long as I could and finally called my Husband at work to take me to the hospital. I was trying to hide the amount of pain I was in from the children but was unable to. I have a small kidney stone, yuck! They gave me some nice pain killers, but I do not like taking pills of any kind. But with the amount of pain I'm in today...Bring on the pills.

I am off now to a doctor's appointment with a neurosurgeon about my back problem. Please pray that all goes well and I will not need surgery. I think this is the shortest post I've ever done since starting to blog! Hope everyone has a wonderful WFW!! Stop by the 160 acre woods for more Word Filled Wednesday entries.

Some Random Things about me!

I've been tagged by Amy over at Amys finer things blog. So now I have to come up with random things about me, then tag 6 bloggers. It is fun doing this because it give us a chance to get to know other bloggers. So enjoy....although it may not be very exciting!



1. I grew up on a chicken farm where we had 30,000 chickens! I really miss the farm life.



2. In my teen years I was a volunteer firefighter/EMT. I still continue as a volunteer with the ambulance, but because of a back injury I have not been able to ride as much.



3. Amy said in school she couldn't get away with anything....neither could I....both of my high school social studies teachers lived next door to us. My Dad loved talking to them.



4. It is hard for me to finish a book that does not keep my attention all the way through.



5. I love being a Keeper at Home! Most people who knew me when....would not believe it now. I was all about a career until God told me otherwise! Let me tell you it wasn't easy! LOL



6. I love the outdoors, camping, and recently I've grown to like fishing...as long as my Hubby does all the "yucky" work...LOL



Now it is my turn to tag 6 people except I can't think of any off the top of my head. SO if you read this and want to play along let me know and I'll be sure to check it out.

Gratituesday!

I found this meme on another blog and thought what a great thing to be a part of. So many times we just go through each and every day not being thankful for all we have. So stop on by Heavenly Homemakers and become a part of this wonderful weekly meme.When thinking about how I wanted to go about this I thought I am all about lists. I create lists for everything, from housework, homeschool, honeydo, grocery...well you get the idea. So I am going to try (I stress try) and pick a subject I'm thankful for and go through the letters in Gratituesday for that particular subject. So here goes:

I am so thankful for my Husband:
Gracious
Redeemed
Adorable
Trustworthy
Intelligent
Talented
Understanding
Educated
Saved by grace
Dauntless
Advocate not only for Christ but for our family
Yummy....There are not many "Y" words to describe a man...LOL so this fits!

I am so blessed to have have my Husband, Not only does he work full time at a very physical job he then comes home and does the things around the house. He has been called into Ministry so will also be going to college on top of everything on his plate. I suggested that I go get a job and he said no my "job" is at home....where I belong, not only where I belong, but where I know God wants me to be!

Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today...

Outside my Window... birds singing at the feeder, sun is shinning with a nice cool gentle breeze.

I am thinking... with this cool weather upon us I feel like baking an apple pie.

I am thankful for... God’s provision daily in our lives.

From the kitchen... sourdough bread

I am wearing... shorts and t shirt, hair in a ponytail.

I am reading... my Bible, canning books, homeschool materials

I am hoping... for another great week of school.

I am hearing... the children preparing for the day.

Around the house... weeds that need to be pulled, lawn that needs to be mowed.

One of my favorite things... crisp morning air.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... a visit to my brother in law who just had surgery for mouth cancer, library to stock up on books.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...

Be still Sunday......

When life throws you lemons you make lemonade!

Boy do we have a great and wonderful God! He is always watching out for us. We have been replacing tires on our car as we can afford them. We have replaced 2 and had 2 more to go. Since we really do not drive a lot during the week, this was the most practical way to go about it. With the price of tires approaching $100/tire! Replacing all 4 at once was not even an option. Anyway, I went out last night with a friend of mine to dinner with no problems at all. Then this morning I was taking our children to spend sometime with my Mom (Fridays are my free day) and just as I was pulling onto the street that my sister lives on the tire just went flat. No pop. Just down. I managed to get it into my sister's driveway and my brother was dropping off his children and said he would put the doughnut on for me. That got me thinking, boy God sure protected us, I could of been going 55 (with the children in the car) when the tire went. OR it could of happened last night after dark when I would of been on a back country road. Also this week my husband was offered 5 hours of over time. More than enough to pay for the new tire. So instead of getting upset (which I normally do) I just praised out wonderful God for allowing it to happen when it did.

This verse came to mind today: Matthew 6:34

"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is it's own trouble."

This has been a very big break through in my Christian life. I have always worried about everything. Today was the first time I can remember not worrying. I amazed myself, but mostly I think I amazed my husband!

My brother said he thinks this tire was damaged when a drunk driver crashed into our car this past winter, in our driveway. Which is another great post about how God works in our lives, maybe I'll post about that next week. You can see the flat part in the tire where he said it looks like someone slid the car sideways, which is what happened when he hit our car. But PRAISE GOD we were not injured in either incidents. God is so GOOD!

Homemade Chocolate Syrup

Our children love to put chocolate syrup on everything....well ok not everything thank goodness! Since I do not like chocolate (I know what kind of woman does not like chocolate??)it makes it difficult for me. I found this recipe in my Mom's card file. It is not as thick as store purchased chocolate syrup but the kids do not complain, and it is SO much cheaper than the purchased kind. I saved a container from purchased chocolate syrup to put the homemade one in.

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 cup granulated sugar

1 cup water

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Dash of salt

Combine cocoa, sugar and salt in a saucepan. Add water and mix until smooth. Bring mixture to a boil. Allow it to boil for one minute, being careful that it does not boil over.
Remove from heat. When cool, add vanilla extract.

Word filled Wednesday

"Whatsoever ye do in the word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him."
Colossians 3:17

All of my Husband's freetime is spent in God's word. I know I have posted this picture before, but seeing this reminds me how I should be. He has been called into ministry and will begin his studies next month. We are both very excited to see what God has in store for us.

The purpose of Word filled Wednesday is to share God’s word (no famous quotes or other literature — only the beautiful word of our Father) through photo’s & a Bible verse!
download it, read it, print it, share with others!

If You’d like to join us for Word Filled Wednesday,simply add your name to Mr. Linky, post your photo and Bible verse. Then link up to The 160 Acre Woods so others can visit and have a word filled day! The picture below is from her site. Visit and enjoy.

All I can say is ouch!!! lol what a tough one! We were burning some old “junk” left overs from building and there was this amazing blaze.. you could feel the heat all the way into the house (with the windows open).. it really made me think how much “heat” deadwood gives off… and how easily we can spend out life putting out those fires if we don’t clean clean up the mess, put it forward and give it to God. What deadwood is holding you back today? Give them to the ultimate firestarter.. not only will he burn the old, he’ll replace it with something better!
God Bless!

New school year has begun!

Here are a few picture of our first day of school. The children were very excited about our new year. We are using My Father's World curriculum this year. So far we are loving it. We are using Exploring Countries and Cultures. We are taking a trip around the world without the cost. We also learn about missionaries ministering in different countries. We have friends in Russia and Africa. Our church support a number of missionaries from other countries as well. Each week we will be making a supper of foods from that particular country we are studying. It should prove to be very interesting since my Husband is somewhat picky. But I'm very excited. Also this past spring an elderly couple that lives near our church gave us FORTY years worth of National Geographic Magazines (yes you read that right). What a treasure these magazines are. All of us have a complete year of the magazine from the year we were born. How neat is that? We have separated all the magazines and have many of them in storage. Ever since I was a child I have always loved looking through the National Geographic. They even gave us their collection of road maps they used when they visited different countries. We can use them for the children to see the roads over there.

We got each of the children backpacks to keep all their supplies, notebooks, ect in. It is easier to organize than boxes or shelves. They then take the backpacks and hang them up at the end of the day. Keeps everything in one spot also.

I found this wonderful cookie blog the other day that has a cookie recipe from all over the world. I am looking forward to making many of these cookies.

Simple Woman

For Today...

Outside my Window...the sun is shinning, birds singing, with a gentle breeze.

I am thinking...about our new school year starting today.

I am thankful for...all that God has blessed us with.

From the kitchen...a lot of canning equipment. A lot of corn a family friend dropped off for us, he is a farmer and sells corn in town, whatever he does not sell that day he usually drops off for us. It is such a blessing.

I am wearing...pink shorts, top and pony tail.

I am reading...homeschool materials.

I am hoping...This beautiful weather continues.

I am hearing...the children getting ready for school.

Around the house...we are still preparing to paint our house. Hopefully very soon.

One of my favorite things...waking up early and sitting out on our deck.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week...school lessons, library, canning.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...this is an interpreter at a living history museum we visit often. She shows us cooking techniques used in 1850.