Gratituesday

I am grateful for our Heavenly Father and his guidance. Like I mentioned before about my back, God has guided us during this. The procedure I had on Thursday was a very frightening thing for me....needles in my back...yeah not something I was looking forward to. I had prayed about it for a week and as the time got closer I could feel even more apprehension about it. I was relaxed until we rounded the corner on the road and saw the big hospital sign. Then I could feel my heart racing. I didn't have any time to sit and worry about it any longer, we got there signed in and away I went. My blood pressure was up pretty high because of the worry I had. I laid down on the bed and prayed like I had never prayed before. I suddenly felt this peace about me, it actually felt like God's hands all over me. My blood pressure came down and we went about the procedure. It was not bad at all! Not that I ever want to go through it again, but I got through it with God right by my side. I do have to have surgery but I am at peace about the decision because God it there all the time! I said this verse over and over again during the procedure.

Romans 15:13

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost."

To read other Gratituesday posts stop by the Heavenly Homemakers and check them out...better yet join us.

Simple Woman's Daybook

For Today...

Outside my Window... rain, there isn't much wildlife running around. This is the day that the Lord hath made.

I am thinking... I'm thankful for getting answers regarding my back, although it wasn't what we had prayed for. I know that God is in control and has me in his hands.

I am thankful for... prayers from family and friends during my myelogram Thursday. It is very over whelming to be on the receiving end of such thoughtfulness.

From the learning room...a lot to do, we have not done much since Wednesday, but the children did a great job of keeping house.

From the kitchen... mess, I've been off my feet for 3 days, although the children did a great job...you know how that goes.

I am wearing... Tshirt and shorts

I am reading... Bible-I've been reading through the Psalms, they give so much comfort in times of need. The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaeffer-this is such a wonderful book. I am really enjoying it, Thank you so much Christina.

I am praying... for doctor's wisdom, I have to have surgery on my back. My neurosurgeon has referred me to a specialist. I have to wait for them to contact me to set up the next appointment. We are praying this happens fairly quickly, our insurance is changing over in February from a pretty good insurance to one that does not cover as much.

I am hearing... The children "goofing" around behind me.

Around the house... a lot of mess, we have started replacing the roof. So there are ladders set up all over and shingles all over. I'll be happy when we get back to some sort of order around here.

One of my favorite things... feeling God's hands upon me in times of need. This is the first time I've been through an injury of this type. Feeling the peace that God has given me is so great. It is really difficult for me to put into words.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... get caught up on school, finish up reading my book, rest.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you...this is the church my Husband and I were married in. It is in the living history museum near our home. If I can get some of the wedding pictures to compress I will post one of them soon.

Visit Peggy at the Simple Woman to read more daybook entries.

Word Filled Wednesday

2 Peter 3:18

But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.

At the very beginning of our new life in Christ we are like little babies. We need food and nourishment to grow, the Bible is that source for us. We need it daily for good growth in God. The more we read our old mind set (before Salvation) starts to fade away. But the minute we stop feeding on the Word of God those old ways creep back in. Do not just read the Word of God but meditate on it. I have to take one verse like 2 Peter 3:18 and read it and reread it over and over again before I can really absorb it. Write it down, place it somewhere you can read it all the time. For me I place it in the kitchen on the refrigerator as a reminder of my verse for the day. Sometimes it even takes me a week to commit it to memory. I then place then in a card file box and when I need some reminders I get them out. Or I "quiz" myself on the verse. We need these daily reminders to turn away from those bad habits and replace them with habits that are honoring to God. What changes have you made to be more like Jesus?

To see other WFW posts go on over to the 160 Acre Woods and check them out.

This will be my last post for a while. Tomorrow (9/25) I will be going into the hospital for a procedure on my back which will require me to rest for 3 or more days after. This procedure I pray will give us some answers and where to go from here regarding my back. We do know that I have a broken vertebrae in my lower back. The myelogram will determine the amount of nerve damage done and if surgery will be required. Have a great weekend!

100th Post.....What we did in celebration of Fall!!

Much to my surprise I have reached my 100th post. I am going to be hosting a give a way in honor of this wonderful occasion! I will be posting details later next week on what I'll be giving away. How does a couple of cookbooks sound???

Here is what we did today to celebrate our favorite season of the year....AUTUMN!!!

This is a cake I made from scratch! This is the first time I've ever made a cake with out a cake mix. We haven't tasted it so we will see.

We then made sugar cookies which the kids decorated with fall sprinkles. Here is Hannah with her cookies.

Here is Katrina with her cookies. She didn't want me to put this on my blog....but she is so beautiful!!

Here is Andrew with his cookies. They can't wait to eat them. You can't really tell but the frosting is orange. We had such a great day making these treats. Have a great first full day of fall!!

Gratituesday

There are so many things to be thankful for. I am thankful for my woman's Bible study at Church. We are doing a study entitled "The secret to Contentment" by Juanita Pursell. "Contentment is built on a relationship with Christ-a solid foundation that never changes." She talks about living a palms up life. Giving everything I mean everything over to God. Do not clench anything in your hands. Open your palms up and hand everything over to him. You will not have to be fearful of what he will take if you give everything over to him already. Easier said than done....right?! I am working on living a palms up life.

"I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly."

John 10:10

To see other Gratituesday posts stop by the Heavenly Homemakers and read more posts. Or better yet join us.

Weekend Goodies

Every 6 months or so my Husband and I drive about 40 minutes south west of here to a Mennonite Bulk Food store. We get all sorts of items there. I get mostly spices, but every once and a while we really stock up like we did this weekend. We save so much money on spices by going there. Not shown here are 2 bags of flour. We stocked up on all our winter spices enough for Thanksgiving and Christmas baking!!


Here is from top left and around: 4 containers of cookie/cake sprinkles(2 autumn, 2 Christmas), cheese sauce base, Bacon and onion mix, dried onions, beef gravy mix (use instead of buillon), Honey, curry, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, apple pie spice (used in oatmeal for Husband and kids), ground allspice, coriander, popcorn, slivered almonds, chicken gravy base (which I use anytime it calls for bouillon)

This is a HUGE bag of oatmeal (for granola), and rice, brown sugar, and peeking out from behind the oatmeal is every one's favorite fall candy...candy corn! Also in the very corner just visible is sunflower seeds.

Simple Woman's Day Book

For Today...

Outside my Window... the sun is shining, it is a great cool crisp morning with birds eating away at the bird feeders.

I am thinking... I love this time of year. I especially love to watch the wildlife gathering food for the winter. Kind of like we do with our preserving foods from our gardens.

I am thankful for... my family and everyone that is willing to help out in times of need.

From the Learning Room...we are beginning our study of Canada, so there are a lot of maps from Canada, books on Canada, ect.

From the kitchen... jars of tomatoes freshly canned, many containers from the Mennonite bulk food store we went to Saturday. I still have to separate things into smaller containers.

I am wearing... sweatshirt, sweatpants, socks, slippers. My favorite fall attire.

I am reading... Bible, The Hidden Art of Homemaking by Edith Schaffer, this is the one I won off of the HSKubes' blog. The Secret of Contentment by Juanita Purcell, this is our Monday night woman's Bible Study.

I am hoping... for answers after I have my nerve test Thursday to determine the extent of damage (if any) to my spine due to a break in my back.

I am hearing... my son looking through a book on the couch behind me. Every once in a while I hear an ever so soft and sweet..."Mommy I love you!"

Around the house... roofing materials, paint and tarps....we are finally going to be making repairs to the house and painting. I'll be posting before and after pictures when we are finished.

One of my favorite things... the smell of autumn.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... Canada studies, test on Thursday (I'll be in the hospital the whole day), rest, rest, rest.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... Hot Pepper Jelly my daughter and I made.

To read other daybooks go on over to the Simple Woman's Blog and check them out...better yet join in on the fun.

Show and Tell Friday

Welcome to my show and tell Friday! My show and tell for this week is my Mother in Law's recipe box. I never got the chance to know my Mother in Law. She passed away 6 months before my Husband and I met. But because of the box I feel I do know her. Every time I make something from these recipes it feels as if I know her through the recipes. Isn't the kitchen where the memories are made?

These recipes are ones my Husband grew up on. They are his comfort food, when I make them it takes him back. The recipe showing is one of his favorites, Chocolate Snack Cake, it is kind of like a big cookie. It was also a way for me to impress my Father in Law (who has since past also) by my grabbing a recipe from Agnes' file.

Handwriting is important, especially in this day and age when everything is done on the computer. Almost nothing is handwritten anymore. So I've made it a habit of mine to write down our favorite recipes for my Children to have when God calls me home. Your handwriting is the only part of you someone can hang onto.

To see other show and tell items stop over and see Kelli at There is no place like home blog and check them out, or better yet join us. Have a great Friday!

Slow Cooking Thursday

Welcome to slow cooking Thursday. To see other slow cooking recipes stop by Sandra's blog and check them out or better yet sign up for yourself.

This was the very first recipe I did in the slow cooker. There are so many variations to this. You could add cheddar cheese, or cranberries, or cashews....the list goes on and on. I've made it with left overs from Thanksgiving with turkey, stuffing and cranberry sauce.

Chicken and Stuffing

5-6 boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 1/4 cup of warm water (may need more)
2 boxes chicken flavored stuffing mix

Mix stuffing and warm water, add enough water to make the stuffing wet. Add can of cream soup to stuffing, mix well. Place half in the bottom of the slow cooker. Place chicken in the slow cooker. Then place remaining stuffing on top of the chicken. Cover and cook on low for 4-5 hours.

Word Filled Wednesday

For more Word Filled Wednesday posts stop by 160 acre woods blog and check out the other posts.

2 Peter 3:18

"But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen."

I've been struggling with contentment lately. It has really given me a heavy heart. When you are not content in your life are you saying to God that you are not giving me enough, or you haven't given me what I need. YES!! It wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that it finally hit me, although I was not "complaining" on the outside, not being content was complaining. We have been struggling here financially. I try so hard not to complain about things to my Husband who works very hard and many hours for our money. We desperately need a new roof on our house, but no funds to be able to do it. There are also many other things that need to be done here before winter. Then there are taxes.....the list could go on and on. I realized that I had been complaining to God in my own little way by not being content. I would always think to my self, if only our house was bigger, or if only....you fill in the words. I finally had given it over to him completely. There is usually one area in a person's life that they try to hold onto and not let God take over. I finally gave it all over to him. I learned to lean fully on God and that he will supply ALL our needs. Not just some of them. Then in the mail the other day came a very unexpected check. The check will not only cover the repairs to the house but our other needs as well!! How great is our God!!!! I was not going to post about this for various reasons. But after I thought about it I decided to. I thought maybe there was someone who was struggling with this same area of their life. It may something small or something huge you are not content with. Also our God has a bit of a sense of humor also....Monday our ladies Bible study started up again at Church and guess what the topic is....CONTENTMENT!! Must be he wants to make sure I really get it....it sometimes takes me awhile. Especially since it took me 33 years to finally submit to God fully. September 20 (this Saturday) will be 3 years old in Christ. Have a great word filled Wednesday!!

Gratituesday-Unexpected Blogging break

Today's gratituesday's post is about being thankful for modern convinces. Because of the left overs of hurricane Ike, we have been with out power for 2 days. We just got power back this afternoon. We had winds in excess of about 60+ mile an hour. There was no damage to our property except for a few shingles off of our roof. Which is going to be replaced next week, Lord willing. Thanks to our gas stove we were still able to cook our meals.

During this time we were able to do things together with as a family. First of all we cleaned the house from top to bottom and everything in between. We started our supper early in the morning and cooked a roast all day. We played games, talked, had Bible studies. We were unable to do what I had planned for school because all the worksheets and projects were on the computer. We learned a very valuable lesson, enjoy all that God gives us each day, they may not be there tomorrow. God Bless!!

"Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might." Ephesians 6:10

To read more Gratituesday posts stop by the Heavenly Homemaker blog and check them out.

Be Still Sunday

Thank you!!

I have made many "blogging friends" over the past few months. Each and every comment has been a blessing to me. My blog is meant to be a place of reflection on God and his daily blessings. I also try to be an encourager. I have received 3 awards from Michele.

Thank you Michele for these thoughtful and uplifting awards. These awards have come at a very good time. I pray that I will always be one that people can see God in. I try to have a quiet spirit even in the midst of term oil. I am still and always will be a work in progress as I strive to be like Jesus. I will pass these onto a couple of my blogging friends when I have a few more minutes.

Psalm 131:2

Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, as a child that is weaned of his mother: my soul is even as a weaned child.

Giveaway-Homemaking Bible Study

HURRY HURRY! Paula over at Hearty Works is giving this Bible Study away. The winner will be drawn on Monday September 15. Jump on over to Hearty Works and leave her a comment to enter. Post it on your blog for an extra entry.

Description: Whether you are a woman who works inside or outside the home, Homemaking will help you figure out your identity as a woman created in God’s image and give you the skills to seek God’s guidance and approach each of your roles with confidence and grace. This Bible study examines different expectations placed on women and helps you answer the tough questions about who you are and what it means to be a woman today.

• Includes discussion questions

I do not know about you but I really could use a study like this! Good luck to all!

Show and Tell Friday

This is my first show and tell Friday. Since I really have not prepared for this ahead of time I thought, hmmm what can I show and tell? Well I will show and tell my family and share a little of who we are.

We are a homeschooling family that lives in NY. I am a SAHM that is striving hard to be the Keeper at home God has called me to be. It is a daily challenge for me, but through prayer God helps me through the day. I enjoy being involved in our Church activities, scrapbooking, faithbooking, crafts, cooking, gardening and recently canning and making jelly.

This is my darling Husband Matt, he is going to be thrilled at the photo I chose to post today. He is my best friend next to our Lord and Savior. He works full time 50+ hours a week and also has started toward his BA degree in Biblical Studies with a minor in Ministry. He has been called by God into ministry. We are very excited for this new chapter in our lives. He enjoys woodworking in his spare time....when ever that is! Even though he is very busy he always takes time for us. He helps out in the homeschooling part in the evening...he is the math teacher....YEAH!!

These 3 clowns...I mean children are our crew. The one in the middle is our oldest, Katrina, she is 14 going on 40! She enjoys being in the kitchen with me. Just yesterday she helped me peel 8 quarts of tomatoes that we canned this morning. The one in the grey shirt is Hannah she is 11 and refuses to grow up...she wants to be a little girl her whole life! LOL She enjoys all things girl, princess, American Girl Dolls, Barbie. The boy of the family is Andrew he is 8 (soon to be 9 in October) he is 100% boy. He has started learning how to work with wood along side my Husband. He also is very interested in becoming a firefighter (as a former firefighter it does my heart well!!)

So that is us in a nut shell. To check out more Show and Tell stop by Kelli's blog There is no place like home and check them out or like me join in on the fun.

September 11

I got this from Sandra over at Diary of a SAHM. 9/11 is one of those days in history you will never forget where or what you were doing. I was standing in my kitchen glued to the TV like most Americans, talking to the food delivery man. What/where were you when the world stopped turning?

'MEET ME IN THE STAIRWELL'

You say you will never forget where you were when
you heard the news On September 11, 2001.
Neither will I.
♥♥♥♥
I was on the 110th floor in a smoke filled room
with a man who called his wife to say 'Good-Bye.' I
held his fingers steady as he dialled. I gave him the
peace to say, 'Honey, I am not going to make it, but it
is OK...I am ready to go.'
♥♥♥♥
I was with his wife when he called as she fed
breakfast to their children. I held her up as she
tried to understand his words and as she realized
he wasn't coming home that night.
♥♥♥♥
I was in the stairwell of the 23rd floor when a
woman cried out to Me for help. 'I have been
knocking on the door of your heart for 50 years!' I said.
'Of course I will show you the way home - only
believe in Me now.'
♥♥♥♥
I was at the base of the building with the Priest
ministering to the injured and devastated souls.
I took him home to tend to his Flock in Heaven. He
heard my voice and answered.
♥♥♥♥
I was on all four of those planes, in every seat,
with every prayer. I was with the crew as they
were overtaken. I was in the very hearts of the
believers there, comforting and assuring them that their
faith has saved them.
♥♥♥♥
I was in Texas , Virginia , California, Michigan , Afghanistan .
I was standing next to you when you heard the terrible news.
Did you sense Me?
♥♥♥♥
I want you to know that I saw every face. I knew
every name - though not all know Me. Some met Me
for the first time on the 86th floor.
♥♥♥♥
Some sought Me with their last breath.
Some couldn't hear Me calling to them through the
smoke and flames; 'Come to Me... this way... take
my hand.' Some chose, for the final time, to ignore Me.
But, I was there.
♥♥♥♥
I did not place you in the Tower that day. You
may not know why, but I do. However, if you were
there in that explosive moment in time, would you have
reached for Me?
♥♥♥♥
Sept. 11, 2001, was not the end of the journey
for you. But someday your journey will end. And I
will be there for you as well. Seek Me now while I may
be found. Then, at any moment, you know you are
'ready to go.'
♥♥♥♥
I will be in the stairwell of your final moments.
God
♥♥♥♥

Slow Cooking Thursday

This is the time of year when I start getting out my soup recipes. Soup is really a universal meal. You can just throw in anything. Some of my favorite meal growing up were my Grandmother's soups. Recently I called her and asked her to write down her recipes for me. She said, well I hardly ever follow a recipe. I said Ok could you just write down what you put in it. She again said well with my soups I just throw in what I have. So I have taken on her form of soup making. But I found this recipe on All Recipes that is close to the one we make. Enjoy!!

Spicy Black and Red Bean Soup

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 1/4 cups sliced carrots
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups chicken stock
2 teaspoons white sugar
1 (16 oz) package frozen corn
1 (15 oz) can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 (15 oz) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (14.5 oz) can Italian-style stewed tomatoes
1 (14.5 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained
1 (4 oz) can diced green chiles

DIRECTIONS
Combine everything in the crockpot, and cook on HIGH for the first hour. Turn the temperature down to LOW, and cook 7 more hours.

To see other Slow Cooking Thursday posts stop by and see Sandra for more.

Book Give a way

This week Weak and Weary Mom is giving away a practically new copy of Real Simple: Cleaning. This book is full of helpful suggestions about cleaning everything in your home. I do not know about you but any help in the cleaning area sounds great to me!!

If you would like a chance to win this book, you need to do two things before Saturday, September 13 at 5 p.m.

1. Leave her a comment on her blog with a link to your blog.

2. Place a link to this post on your blog.

She will announce the winner Sunday, and e-mail the winner to get a mailing address. This is open to US residence only.

GOOD LUCK! I love all these give a ways from all.

Word Filled Wednesday

Ecclesiastes 11:6
In the morning sow your seed, And in the evening do not withhold your hand; For you do not know which will prosper, Either this or that, Or whether both alike will be good.

How many times in our lives do we say, "Oh that was a great opportunity to witness to..." Or how many times have you witnessed to a person and you feel like they just are not getting it. That has happened many times to me on both counts. God places people in our lives for a reason and we need to take the opportunities and share the Gospel. One opportunity I had recently was when a young man crashed in our lawn and hit our car, which was in the driveway at the time. He came feet from hitting our home. He was intoxicated at the time. I must admit I did not act like a Christian at the time. But the young man and his father came back the following day and he (the young man) apologized to us. I in turn apologized to him, after much debate with God over this one, "ME apologise to him!?" But God laid upon my heart to share my faith with him. I must admit this is the first time I had ever done so. I reached out to the boy who in an instant changed our lives forever. While I was talking I had no idea at the time where all the words were coming from. I know now that they were coming from God. About a month ago we saw this young man in the store and he stopped us and said, "Thank you so much for saving my life". He has been going to church and is now getting his life on tract. I do not know if he has accepted Christ or not, but the seed has been planted. It is all in God's time when people come to him. It is up to us to be aware of the people God places in our lives. Is it easy, No.

The picture above reminds me that yes we are only one person in the world but if we plant many seeds like this wheat stalk many will come to know Christ. All we have to do is talk, who doesn't like to do that?

To read other Word Filled Wednesday posts stop by 160 Acre Woods blog.

Gratituesday

Over the past year I have been concerned about my 14 yo daughter. She did not seem to have any interests in anything except "Hannah Montana", "High School Musical", ect. I've been in prayer over this for a long time now. I'm very thrilled to say that I believe she now has an interest and we will be running with it! She loves to be in the kitchen cooking!! YEAH! Not only is it a skill she will need to run her own household, but it is something, like me that she enjoys. It finally hit me Thursday when in the mail I got my new issue of Cooking Light magazine and she took it before I even had a chance to read it. She came into our room where I was reading and we started having a great moment going through the magazine talking about the recipes. It was such a tender moment for me. We talked in there for about an hour. Then yesterday another one of my cooking magazines came in the mail and she took it and looked at it. Praise God that I now have something I can share these moments with her. This is also the time of year the children start asking for stuff for Christmas. She told me last night she would like a baking cookbook! On the 25th of this month I have to go into the hospital for a procedure on my back in which I will be "forced" to sit still for 3 days after. So Katie is already planning the meals for that weekend. She is so excited to be taking over the kitchen for the weekend. I'm going to let her make the grocery list and we will go the day before and get everything she needs.

For more Gratituesday posts stop by the Heavenly Homemaker blog to see other posts or join us in posting something you are grateful for.

Blessings

I am VERY happy to say that I have won my very first give a way! The HsKubes' Haven at Home hosted a very gracious give a way and I found out this morning that I was the winner of the homemaking bundle. If you ever want to be blessed stop by her blog and visit. Below is what I have won:

Simple Woman Day Book

For Today...

Outside my Window... birds are singing joyfully at the feeder.

I am thinking... it sure looks like autumn is on its way.

From the learning room...It looks like Mexico here. We are studying Mexico for the next 2-3 weeks. The girls and I are starting their "woman class" this afternoon, it is a lot like home ec. But much more, we are creating a hope chest for each of them. My husband and my son are doing "man class" also, instead of a hope chest they are making a tool box. The children are so excited about this.

I am thankful for... God's daily guidance for our lives.

From the kitchen... fresh homemade brownies. A roast slow cooking in the cast iron pan in the oven.

I am wearing... sweatpants and a sweatshirt. I was so happy to get these out of storage for the cooler weather.

I am reading... Proverbs, Honoring God through our Traditions by Noel Piper, Time will tell by Robin Jones Gunn (I have not started this one yet but will this week)

I am praying... that my Husband has a better week of classes. Satan did everything in his power last week to trip up my Husband. His books were delayed from the college, our computer just stopped working for no reason and is fine now, kids have been acting up, ect ect. But even through all this and a lot of prayer Matt finished his 700 word essay with 5 hours to spare!!

I am hearing... the children cleaning their rooms....I hope they are anyway.

Around the house... I will finish the dusting today and vacuum.

One of my favorite things... autumn scented candles.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week... school, library, Church, picnic(s) Saturday, we have our homeschool group picnic and our Sunday School picnic both on Saturday.

Here is a picture thought I am sharing with you... Hot Pepper Jelly. I love the color of it.

For more daybooks stop by Peggy at the Simple Woman's Blog and check them out or join us with this great meme.

I've been tagged with one of the best questions ever!

I've been tagged by Shelly for a lesson I've learned from my Mom/from your children. Stop by her blog and see her answer....it will probably make you tear up.

What to do: share with us and your readers a lesson that you learned from your own mom, a special mom in your life, or while raising your own children. There’s no right or wrong answers…just lessons that each of us can learn and implement with our own children. Link your post back to this one, leave a comment below so we can visit and learn from you, and then tag 2-3 other moms to participate.

For me there really isn't ONE lesson I learned from my Mother. So if I had to choose just one thing I learned from her it would be, no matter what you do, how tired you are, your family comes first. I have to say that she is the best Mother anyone could ever ask for. Although she worked outside the home she was always there for us. She worked in a restaurant as a cook, waitress, dishwasher, ect. You'd think that when she came home she would be so tired and not want to cook again. We always had great meal times, even when we were older and had sporting events ect. She always made sure we ate as a family. I remember thinking when I was in school that I didn't need any of these things because I was going to be just like my Mom, I was going to be a keeper at home. So many times, now that I am a Mom myself, I realize what my Mom went through to raise us. But she never complained, at least never out loud.

Now I have to tag 2-3 more Mom's to participate in this. So I tag Sandra, and Michele. There blogs are each filled with so much information that I am blessed each time I visit them.

Slow Cooking Thursday

Slow Cooker Baked Beans

1 pound dry white beans
8 cups water
4 ounces diced salt pork
1 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup molasses
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon dry mustard
1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper


The night before, combine the Great Northern Beans and water in a large saucepan. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 1/2 hours. Pour beans and their liquid into a bowl, cover and refrigerate overnight.

In the morning, drain off liquid, reserving 1 cup. Pour beans and the reserved liquid into the slow cooker. Stir in the salt pork, onion, molasses, brown sugar, mustard and pepper. Cover, and cook on Low for 12 to 14 hours. Stir before serving.

8 servings

These are very good! I'm going to try and substitute some other type of beans. I'm just worried that other beans might break down too much during the cooking time. Maybe lower the cooking time? What do you think?

For more Slow Cooking Thursday recipes stop by Sandra's blog and check them out, there are tons of recipes on her site also.

Homeschool give a way!

Shannon over at Song of My Heart is having a book give a way. It is a great book, Draw.Write.Now, it is a wonderful book to use with your art curriculum. Go on over and check out how to enter. It is really easy. And if you post about it on your blog and then leave another comment she will put your name in the hat FIVE more times. Good luck!

Word Filled Wednesday

Psalm 5:3-4

"My voice You shall hear in the

morning, O Lord;

In the morning I will direct it to You,

And I will look up."

One thing I have started doing is my devotional time first thing in the morning before I get out of bed. It is the best time of my day. I love these verses. It helps me start my day off right, with my eyes upward. So many times in the morning it is easy to have eyes that are cast down. Especially if you are like me and not a morning person. So I find that if I have time with the Lord first in the morning my day starts out on the right foot.

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Gratituesday

Today I have many things to be grateful for! But I'd have to say for today I'm thankful for the wonderful weekend we had. For the most part it was just my Husband and I. Hannah and Andrew went to their Dad's house and Katrina went with her Grandparents camping to help care for my Sister. When Hannah and Andrew came back we then went to a Living History Museum near us for Monday. We had such a great time. Below are a few pictures from our day.

They were in "school" here. They were writing down their lessons for the day. This building is one of their favorites. The "teacher" interpreter asked them why, because it reminds us of our school with all of us together in one room.

Aren't they so cute!! Andrew had to try out every slate that was in there.

This was the blacksmith. He demonstrated how they made nails for use in the 1800's. This was Andrew's favorite.....fire and hammers! Andrew could of stayed there all day. The interpreter was very good with Andrew. He answered all his questions very well.

They had a room in the art gallery made up to look like a log cabin. They climbed into the wagon for their journey. There were Lincoln logs and blocks, books, and crafts for them to complete. They enjoyed this also. Me too, I was able to sit there!

Here they are looking at a map of the village. They have a small scale map with actual buildings. I am so grateful that we are able to share this with the kids. It gives them a glimpse of how people lived back in the 1800's. Andrew said after today that he wishes we still lived in that era. Things were so much slower he said. That is so true.

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