So what's a Mom to do.....

Well now Hannah and Andrew are sick. They are both running temps of over 100. They have been lying on the couch all day. So what does Mom do while her sick children are sleeping? I create fun things out of paper!!

Saturday at Church we are having a crafting day. I am demonstrating 2 paper crafts and wanted to play around with some new stamps I have. Here are 2 paper baskets I made today. The Christmas one (first one) is the one I'm demonstrating. The second one is a fall/halloweenish basket.

The one below is made from black textured card stock with Twitterpated paper. I love the way it looks. Its hard to see in the picture but it is shaped the same way as the one above.

I also had time to make a couple of cards using the Christmas Story stamp and Holiday Warmth. Both sets can be found on my website. The first card I used white card stock, cranberry cardstock, colonial white cardstock and the stamp was from Holiday Warmth.

I love the way this last card turned out! I used the Christmas Story stamp, black card stock, chocolate cardstock, colonial white textured cardstock, water color pencils, blending pen, Outdoor denim ink.

Happy Homemaker Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods: beautiful!! It is sunny and in the mid 60's!

One of my simple pleasures: soft tissues and cough drops...I have a nasty cold!

On my bedside table: "Love and Respect", Bible and cell phone

On my TV: nothing

On the menu for tonight: chicken and stuffing, broccoli

On my To Do List: A LOT!

New Recipe I tried last week: Home made Fudge! This was the first time I've ever made this.

In the craft basket: cards, scrapbooking and working on my faithbook.

Looking forward to: a day of going no where tomorrow.

Homemaking Tip for this week: no tips

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other):

Favorite photo from last week: Andrew's soup from his soup making class at co op classes. He loves this class. Vegetable beef

Lesson learned the past few days: stay in bed when I do not feel well. My family will survive.

On my Prayer List: everyone gets healthy soon. Thankfully we just have colds. My sister who is expecting a baby in April, unsaved family members.

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses: Joel 2:26 (New King James Version) "You shall eat in plenty and be satisfied, And praise the name of the LORD your God, Who has dealt wondrously with you; And My people shall never be put to shame."

To see other Happy Homemaker posts visit Diary of a SAHM.

Paper Luminaries

I have been busy preparing for the upcoming holidays. I made 2 paper luminaries today. The first one is using the Christmas Story Stamp from Close to my Heart. I love the way this one turned out. You can not see the flaps that are on either side of the vellum but it reads "A baby, a manger, a bright, and shining star.....go to my website to read the rest of it.

Products used for the Christmas Story one above: Visit my website for details on products used.

(1395) Vellum Paper; (X5643) Chocolate Cardstock; (C1377) Christmas Story stamp set; (Z2140) Outdoor denim ink; (3505) Water color pencils

This was the first luminary I did. Since I did not have an autumn colored cardstock I did a ink and sponge effect all over the white daisy cardstock. This one is using November's Stamp of the Month. I'm not extremely happy with the way it turned out. But I think it is cute.

These were SO easy to make. Products used for this one was: (1395) Vellum paper; (1385) White daisy cardstock; (Z2101) Autumn Terracotta Ink; (Z2104) Barn Red ink; (D1377) November Stamp of the Month (not available until November 1)

Slow Cooking Thursday

My kids love tamales, but making them is a pain. When I found this recipe I was THRILLED! It tastes the same without all the hassle. ENJOY!

Tamale Casserole

1 pound ground beef
1 egg
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 can corn
1 can diced tomatoes undrained
1 can sliced ripe olives
1 envelope chili seasoning
1 teaspoon seasoned salt (I omit this since chili seasoning is salty)
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Cook beef and drain. Combine egg, milk and cornmeal until smooth. Add corn, tomatoes, olives, chili seasoning, and beef. Transfer to slow cooker.

Cover and cook on high for 3 hours and 45 minutes. Sprinkle with cheese cover and cook 15 minutes longer or until cheese is melted.

Visit Diary of a SAHM for more recipes.

Christmas Card and a birthday card

I've been working on some Christmas cards for a swap with my team. Here is the one I created for tonight. The products I used are all Close to my Heart so if you see something here head on over to my website and you can order from the comfort of your own home. The product numbers are in (). I'll even post a step by step at a later date if you want to know how to make this.

Products used:
Colonial White cardstock (#1388)
Cocoa cardstock (X5642)
B&T paper Animal Cookies (X5807)
Festive Frills stamp set (C1328)
Cranberry brads (Z1219)
Cranberry ribbon (Z1103)
3D foam tape (Z1151)
Inks: New England Ivy, Cranberry


This is a card I made for my Great Aunt who is turning 90!!

Products used:
Colonial White Cardstock
Chocolate Cardstock
B&T Duos Thats Amore
stamp sets: Dream Big and With Love
Inks: Pansy Purple, Vineyard Berry
Embroidery Floss


Making my own cards is not only rewarding but also it adds that extra personal touch! Contact me today to learn how to make these cards.

Happy Homemaker Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods: very cool. We had more frost this morning and we are supposed to be in the mid 50's today.

One of my simple pleasures: taking my kids somewhere they have been looking forward to. Most of the time we go to the living history museum in our area. Especially this time of year where we can see how they prepared for winter in the 1800's.

On my bedside table: Love and Respect (book I'm reading for a review), Storm over Coronado a book written by Dr. David Jeremiah's wife Donna. IT IS SOOOO GOOD! I'll do a post about it when I'm finished, it is a who dun it mystery.

On my TV:nothing

On the menu for tonight: I'm not sure yet. We have an Olympian leaders meeting so it will be something quick. Maybe grilled cheese on homemade bread and soup.

On my To Do List: leaders meeting, reports for quarter, some baking and our month menu planning.

New Recipe I tried last week: none

In the craft basket: paper crafts and scrapbooks

Looking forward to: a day of not having to go anywhere!

Homemaking Tip for this week: find a spot for everything. I bought a bunch of plastic tubs so we can store stuff in the attic.

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other): none

Favorite photo from last week: a picture of a walking stick that was on the front of our house.

Lesson learned the past few days: just because we live in a small house doesn't mean we can not entertain guests.

On my Prayer List: family, service men and women, my grandmother who has been diagnosed with dementia.

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses: Psalms 136:23 "It is he who remembered us in our low estate, for his steadfast love endures forever."

To see other Happy Homemaker posts visit Diary of a SAHM.

Slow Cooking Thursday

One of my best childhood memories is when my Mom use to make potato soup and invite an elderly man from up the road to join us. It was his favorite soup, and also became mine.

Potato Soup

6 cups peeled and cubed potatoes
5 cups water
2 cups chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup thinly sliced carrots
1/4 cup butter
4 teaspoons chicken bouillon granules
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 can evaporated milk
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
chives (optional)

In large slow cooker, combine the first 9 ingredients. Cover and cook on high for 7-8 hours. Add milk and parsley mix well. Cover and cook 30-60 minutes. Garnish with chives. 8-10 servings.

To see other posts visit Diary of a SAHM.

Contentment....a struggle for me!

Ever feel that no matter how much you pray about something your human nature takes over before the prayer is over? I have been struggling with contentment, or the lack of it, for some time now. Last year at our ladies bible study we did a whole study on it. I did great for a while but I always seem to falter in this area.

My biggest struggle of discontent is our home. I'm grateful that we have a home. I love the location, but a family of 5 living in a house with less than 1000 sq ft is tight. Why can't I just be content with what God has provided??? I love to have people over to our home but we have no room for entertaining....discontent....so I shy away from inviting people over. We had to remodel the basement so the kids could have bedrooms, I want "real" rooms for them...discontent...I do not let the kids have friends over because of that. Adding on to our house isn't an option unless we won the lottery...which we do not play! We can't sell because there is so much work that needs to be done on the house. I also feel so much guilt over this because my husband works hard to provide for our needs and does a great job at it. This is just eating away at me. I do not feel I can be completely honest and open about this with him for fear of hurting him.

Being discontent with things also leads to envy. We go over to people homes and there is so much room. They have nice homes where they are comfortable having people over. I've been reading many Proverbs and trying to work through this. I'm posting this as help for myself to get it out.

Proverbs 15:16-17 says "Better is a little with the fear of the Lord than great treasure and trouble with it. Better is a dinner of herbs where love is than a fattened ox and hatred with it."

If only I could accept this. Just last night our daughter made a comment to someone at church that she is excited her Dad is getting a new house so she could finally have a bedroom with a door. It was like a stab in the heart. She would rather live with someone who is unsaved and had been abusive in the past than to live here. I have spoken to her about it and told her how it make me feel. Is there a way to be content with who I am? Where I came from? Mistakes I've made? Why do I struggle so much with this?

Hopefully soon I'll be able to say this:

Philippians 4:11-13 "Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need. I can do all things through him who strengthens me."

Thank you for listening.

Simple Woman's Daybook

FOR TODAY...October 12th

Outside my window... COLD! We had frost this morning. I'm glad we took care of the gardens this weekend.

I am thinking... I am going to make a variety of breads today.

I am thankful for... a warm home and the ability to stay home and be a homemaker, wife, mother.

I am wearing... sweats, wool socks, and sweatshirt with my slippers. I said it was cold!

I am remembering... back to when my son was born. He is 10 today. I remember waiting for the doctor to arrive at the hospital so I could welcome the new blessing. I had a planned c section and the doctor was late.

I am going... to church Monday, Tuesday for our missions conference that started on Saturday. Wednesday nite kids program at church. Thursday we are traveling to Buffalo to hear David Jeremiah speak. We are excited about this opportunity to hear him.

I am reading...Love and Respect, a book I'm reading for a review.

I am hoping... we are ready for winter, I'm thinking it is on its way much earlier this year.

On my mind... the missionaries we have been hearing from this week.

From the learning rooms... nothing today, it is a holiday here, Andrew's birthday.

Noticing that... the leaves here are changing fast and falling off the trees just as quick.

Pondering these words... Nehemiah 4:14 "And I looked and arose and said to the nobles and to the officials and to the rest of the people, "Do not be afraid of them. Remember the Lord, who is great and awesome, and fight for your brothers, your sons, your daughters, your wives and your homes."

From the kitchen... many loaves of bread.

Around the house... laundry to be put away, dusting, and more laundry to be done. Endless cycle.

One of my favorite things...stepping outside on a cool autumn morning and seeing the beauty of God's creation with the fresh layer of frost.

From my picture journal..We had hoped to get a few goats this spring for milking but at this point it looks like we will not be able to. Our property is not big enough for farm animals. We have almost an acre and were told there shouldn't be any trouble, but the town building inspector is coming out to see if we can squeeze in a small building. We want to be more self sufficient with our food. We also wanted to get some chickens, now we are only talking about 5 chickens and 3 or 4 goats.

To see more Simple Woman Daybooks visit The Simple Woman's Daybook blog.

Happy Homemaker Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods: F*R*I*G*I*D!! Jack Frost came here last night. I looked at the thermometer on the porch and it said 25 degrees!!! I'm not sure if it is that cold or not, but I know it was cold.

One of my simple pleasures: snuggling on the couch with an afghan and a good book or movie.

On my bedside table: Bible, cell phone.

On my TV: Andrew is watching something. I gave him slight control of the TV...since its his birthday.

On the menu for tonight: we are going out to eat, we let the birthday child pick what they would like to have, they can either get something here, or eat out....woohoo we are eating out!

On my To Do List: put the plastic up on windows, it is supposed to be pretty cold here this week...not getting out of the 40's!! I'm not ready for this kind of cold temps. I'm also going to do a lot of baking to help with heating the house. I'm thinking bread, cookies, maybe an apple pie.

New Recipe I tried last week: I had some spelt here that I wanted to use in bread. Since I had never had or tried using spelt before I thought I'd gradually introduce it to my family. So I took a normal white bread recipe and used half all purpose flour and half spelt flour. It was very good! Tasted a lot like whole wheat. Spelt is easily digested and is high in nutrients which help in blood clotting and stimulating the immune system. What better time to experiment than the beginning of flu and cold season. I challenge you to try something new this week. Maybe a new food product or a new flour.

In the craft basket: cards and paper crafts

Looking forward to: celebrating my son Andrew's birthday. He is 10 today! I'm having a bit of a struggle with this one since he is my baby.

Homemaking Tip for this week: keep an empty laundry basket handy for the times when people suddenly drop over, you can put the stuff that is out of place in there until later.

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other): did not have one.

Favorite photo from last week: last weekend we went to our favorite museum and this is a picture taken in one of the houses. The cook was making a chicken soup with biscuits. I could just sit in this house all day and watch the cook.

Lesson learned the past few days: God has you placed where he wants you at the moment. I've been struggling these past few weeks with home schooling. I had lost the desire to school the kids. It wasn't that they were bad or didn't want to learn, I just did not have the desire to prepare lessons ect. After many days of prayer and the kids reading a lot of library books...lol! I realized that this is where God wants me.

On my Prayer List: my family, unsaved family and friends, our church (we are in the middle of our missionary conference, I really enjoy this time) my sister who is expecting a baby in April (she had another ultrasound and everything looked great with the baby, it is growing and moving around a lot, they even heard the heart beat again)!!

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses: Nehemiah 6:8 ..."No such things as you say have been done, for you are inventing them out of your own mind."

The missionary spoke on Nehemiah last night, and used this as an example on how to handle adversity. When someone in his sending church was accusing others of things this is the verse the Pastor wrote on a piece of paper...nothing else just his verse. He then sent the note back to him. Of course there was more to the story but I loved it!!

To see other Happy Homemaker posts visit Diary of a SAHM.

Slow Cooking

I did not have time to get on the computer yesterday, So I'm posting for both day today. Since fall is defiantly here I'm in a big soup mode! Although I hardly ever do soup in the crock pot I thought this recipe would be really good. It turned out really good.

Beef 'n' Black Bean Soup

1 lb ground beef

2 cans chicken broth

1 can diced tomatoes, do not drain

8 green onions, thinly sliced

3 medium carrots, thinly sliced

2 ribs of celery, thinly sliced

2 garlic cloves minced

1 tablespoon sugar

1 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon salt (I omitted the salt since I used canned beans and tomatoes)

1/2 teaspoon dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

2 cans black beans rinsed and drained

1 1/2 cups cooked rice (I just used instant and added it towards the end of cooking)

Cook beef until done and drain. Add all ingredients to the slow cooker except for the beans and rice. Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Add beans and rice cook for 1 hour longer.

Caramel Rolls

2 packages refrigerator biscuits

1/4 cup melted butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix sugar and cinnamon together. Dip individual biscuits into melted butter and then into cinnamon mixture. Place each biscuit in greased slow cooker. Cover and cook on high heat 3 hours.

This was an easy go to quick breakfast recipe. Although it would be just as easy to do this one in the oven, just place on a baking sheet and bake until biscuits are done. They were very good!!!

To see other posts visit Diary of a SAHM and Dining with Debbie for wonderful recipes.

Happy Homemaker Monday

The weather in my neck of the woods: very autumn like, its cool around 60 with periods of sun.

One of my simple pleasures: I love to sit outside under our maple tree and just listen to everything going on around me. The wind blowing through the leaves, leaves blowing across the street, and birds chirping.

On my bedside table: Bible, cell phone, lamp

On my TV: nothing

On the menu for tonight: home made sloppy Joes

On my To Do List: clean and organize the house, finish painting, laundry, start of our missionary conference Saturday with a Mens breakfast and carry in dinner at night.

New Recipe I tried last week: sloppy joes, I'll let you know how they are. It is a recipe I came up with on my own. Hamburger, onion, garlic, tomato sauce, ketchup and brown sugar.

In the craft basket:cards, scrapbook stuff. Since I do not have a room for my crafting, my wonderful hubby bought me a drafting table to use for my crafts. I love it!

Looking forward to: our missions conference, it is always a time of blessing.

Homemaking Tip for this week: with a large family, buying in bulk really saves you money. We go to BJ's once a month for many of our grocery needs. I love having everything right here when I need it.

Favorite Blog Post of the week (mine or other): did not read many blogs.

Favorite photo from last week: this wasn't from last week, but since I did not get a chance to upload pictures recently (lost the cord) This is from a recent trip to our favorite history museum.

Lesson learned the past few days: Being with out a car is really hard. You never appreciate things until they are gone. Glad to say that it is fixed now and working great.

On my Prayer List: my sister who after many years of trying to get pregnant is now expecting a child in April!!!! I just pray everything goes well for her and her husband.

Devotionals, Scripture Reading, Key Verses: Psalm 46:1 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble." This is a verse a said over and over this past week. It was a very hard week for me.

To see other Happy Homemaker posts visit Diary of a SAHM.