A Perfect Holiday..........

Memorial Day we took a BBQ

picnic to Suttle Lake.......

A wonderful time with

family and friends!!

Have a Wonderful Mother's Day Weekend!!

Before I was a Mother, I never tripped over toys or forgot words to a lullaby. I didn't worry whether or not my plants were poisonous. I never thought about immunizations.

Before I was a Mother, I had never been puked on. Pooped on. Chewed on. Peed on. I had complete control of my mind and my thoughts. I slept all night.

Before I was a Mother, I never held down a screaming child so doctors could do tests. Or give shots. I never looked into teary eyes and cried. I never got gloriously happy over a simple grin. I never sat up late hours at night watching a baby sleep.

Before I was a Mother, I never held a sleeping baby just because I didn't want to put him/her down. I never felt my heart break into a million pieces when I couldn't stop the hurt. I never knew that something so small could affect my life so much. I never knew that I could love someone so much. I never knew I would love being a Mother.

Before I was a Mother, I didn't know the feeling of having my heart outside my body. I didn't know how special it could feel to feed a hungry baby. I didn't know that bond between a mother and her child. I didn't know that something so small could make me feel so important and happy.

Before I was a Mother, I had never gotten up in the middle of the night every 10 minutes to make sure all was okay. I had never known the warmth, the joy, the love, the heartache, the wonderment or the satisfaction of being a Mother. I didn't know I was capable of feeling so much, before I was a Mother.

May you always be overwhelmed by the Grace of God rather than by the cares of life....

Blessings to you all this Mother's Day!!

Valentines Tea

During the daytime tea everything was "PINK"...even the

food was pink.

Our daytime menu consisted of.....

Cranberry Whip (pink*)

Heart Shaped Scones

Heart Shaped Cucumber Sandwiches

Strawberry Cream Cheese Sandwiches (pink*)

Broiled Salmon & Chedder on Canape (pinkish*)

Linzer Hearts (pink*)

Chocolate Truffles

Berry Tarts (pink*)

and the finale....

Black Forrest Torte (oozing with pink*)

The ladies enjoyed themselves, lingered and slowly filtered
out as we began preparations for our next
group, the couples.......who were greeted
by twilight glows in the yard as the arrived....
Hurricanes along the walkway in the snow :)........

I was sooooo EXCITED to find these roses!!

I found them at the Dollar Store!! They were a dollar

each, but that is less than half of what that normally cost.

The Couples menu was almost the same, only they

had Greens with Strawberry Poppy Seed Vinegrette and

with the sandwiches they had beef or chicken pasties

and with the finale....they had choices,

Black Forrest Torte or Apple Upside Down

Torte with Caramel Sauce or Cheesecake with

Rhubarb Sauce. :) Yum!

For the couples, I added these table toppers to give

them a more "elegant" feeling......

I was happy to be able to use something I had on hand,

my sister-in-law gave me a whole roll of this decoraters

fabric, I also plan to make curtains out of it!! :) But I

thought it went well and was fun to dress up the

tea tables for a "Candlight Tea".

And those "little bit bigger" red teacups I bought for

the gentlemen...well, they worked very well.

Happy couples!!

Happy Tea Time!!

We all had fun, none of my helpers were available, so my daughter served as usual, but my husband had to help us, especially with pouring tea!! It was funnyat first, but he was AWESOME!! It actually added a touch of class having agentleman serve tea. The ladies especially loved it.

Titus 2 Day

I am sad to have no pictures of our day together....

but we just started up our meetings again now that the

holidays are over. We are only going to

meet once a month, that way we can meet just

a little longer and do more.

This month we focused on:

"Peace in Perilous Times"

Everything we did was in an effort to help

bring peace to our own hearts as well as

our families and in our home.

As they arrived I had bread dough ready to go and

each rolled out Cinnamon Bread. The point was, when you

make a batch of bread, once in awhile do a cinnamon one for

a treat, nothing like Cinnamon Toast with a bowl of

hot cereal on a cold winters morning. Sounds

peaceful right?? Making our families happy and

contented brings PEACE.

Then I had our soup done to a point, meat browned, veggies

chopped, and it had to be boiled for just 5 minutes

before you could can it in the pressure canner.

Food ready to go in the pantry keeps us at PEACE.

So, we enjoyed lunch together and then had a short devotional

about peace in our lives. Peace comes when we draw

closer and closer to God. When we are close to

Him, we will be able to trust Him more

and that brings PEACE to our whole household.

Then we did a project that is fun to use with homeschool

curriculum or just for a fun scrapbook project idea. We made

a Lap Booklet with Minit Books inside.

Lap books are a file folder folded to the center so it

opens like shutters and you put different bits of

information or pictures or whatever on the little

booklets that you glue inside. Fun for all

ages. Once the older kids master the little

books, they can help the younger ones.

Busy children on a cold winters day

is very PEACEFUL indeed. :)

Then I showed them how to use a fabric pen

and write a verse on a piece of fabric to

embroider. Scripture on your walls is a

very good thing.....it reminds us of God and

who He is and keeps our minds focused

on Him throughout the day. Which brings

more PEACE to our homes.

The verse I chose is one that has ministered to

me ALOT lately.....

"Thou wilt keep him in perfect PEACE,

whose mind is stayed on thee."

Isaiah 26:3

So, some knew embroidery and some learned that day

as we moved on and learned how to do a granny

square. Some knew crochet and some had to

learn. So, at that point we just spent the next

bit of our time crocheting or embroidering

and encouraging one another. :)

All in all it was a very PEACEFUL day. :D

Next month, we will do two more embroidery stitches

and possibly work on crocheting a bit more. And

some other fun things I have up my sleeve. :) Our

theme next time is PREPAREDNESS.

(But not to an extreme, just some things we

can easily do).....which also brings PEACE!!

If you are ever interested in doing your own Titus 2 group,

Lisa at New Harvest Homestead

on my side bar will send you a free meeting

guide. It has some fun ideas and encouragement

for how to start a group.

Christmas Blessings........

"What do you do? You're just a housewife and slave, aren't you?

A nursemaid to a bunch of kids?" ~ "NO. I have a

fantastic job, a terrific career! I am a curator in a

museum ~ a museum of memories!!"

~Edith Schaeffer, What is Family. (Very good book by the way:)

That is what I have been up to....a very, very busy

week creating memories!!

Even though my children are all grown, it is fun to still
make memories. I have been sewing up a storm!! Making a
couple lap quilts, PJ pants and I am about done. :) We
basically have no money this year for gifts...so it has been
such a BLESSING to see God provide just what I needed out in
my "stash" of fabric. God is so Good and I feel richly Blessed!
I will show you some pictures of what I have done after
Christmas, just in case anyone "peeks" at this blog before
tonight. :) Our children are all here tonight for a very healthy
fish dinner....mmmm, can't wait!!..... and gifts and tomorrow we
go to my hubbies Uncle's house for Christmas dinner. We were
just going to hang out here at home and not do a big dinner
Christmas day, but with the snow and the storms, his aunt
and uncle will be alone since they cannot get anywhere and
their family cannot get to them. :( So, we are happy to spend
the day with them, they are the only "aged" family we have left
that are like my children's grandparents, we
have many happy memories with them.

Hope and pray for you all today.....Peace to you as you

go about your preparations....May Love and

Joy and Peace abound in your homes

tonight and tomorrow and always!!

Over the River.....

and through the woods.......

but not to grandmother's house (very sad to say :( )
But only to arrive at the coziest spot I know on

this particular Saturday.....
Camp Sherman Christmas Bazaar!!

A stroll through this very fun sale and then off
for the "Christmas tree hunt!!"
We searched and searched......then it was time for a break....
and turkey sandwiches!!!

It was one of the most beautiful days ever for tree hunting!!

I only remember snow and cold......

My daughter did quite a photo shoot of her own, there

were so many fun things to see. On her blog she

has a very fun display of mushrooms. :)

I thought the needles on this tree were really pretty, although

theyare hard to see here. I would have brought this

tree home,but it was too tall.

Manzanita!!! These branches make a beautiful wreath!!

Finally....we found it!! Trouble is we were getting two trees....

so we had a bit more looking to do.

Wow...a bit scarry if you ask me!!

On home again for some hot potatoe cheese soup with our

leftover veggies from Thanksgiving added....garlic roasted

asparagus and brussel sprouts and

a fun Christmas movie.....

Good Bye Autumn!!

Hello December!!

I Love Autumn and all it's colors and all the Fall dishes there

are to enjoy with squash and nuts and putting things up from the

garden or locally bought produce, I love it all.But I am always

happy to enter December. December is full of so much.

Celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ!!

That He came, only to give His life for me!!

Without Him I am nothing!!

e

Giving to those we love and care about as an expression of Him

giving Hislife for me. His coming to earth was a gift

for anyone willing to take it.

e

Taking time to find those people that may be without or not have

loved ones to share with and blessing them in some way.

This of course always depends on how we are doing, this year it

will be homebaked goodsor something handmade. We do have a

neighbor that keeps to himself out here and we take him a plate

of Christmas dinner at the end of the day. He is always

happy aboutthat. He prefers that to sitting at our table. :)

e

Everything is so beautiful in December, I love all the lights!! I wish it could look like that all winter long. In some parts of our town, they do keep lights up through the winter. :)

e

I love the smells December brings, cinnamon

and spices, pine, cedar....mmmmm!!

e

Every year, I try to slow down and focus on why we do what we do. This year that is even easier because we really have $0 to spend.....so I am having fun thinking of things to make

for my family with what I have. I am so happy that

I have a stash to build from.

e

I love creating memories, still today with grown children.....I have so many happy memories from Christmas with my Mom and Dad, I will cherish them always.

e

It is my prayer for you all to enjoy this season and remember to take time to reflect on Christmas's past and the present and how we can share the love of Jesus to those around us.

Bless You All!!

Blessings.....

Blessings of the fruits of our labor....

dilly beans and dill pickles.....

Blessings of simplicity........
I made my rolls the day before, let them rise once, made into balls put in the
pan and put them directly into the refrigerator. They raised a bit, I put them in the
oven straight from the refrigerator............
Mixed and matched my dishes so that I could use

my two apple plates above :) .......

Blessings of more preparedness.......
Plum Juice Punch......

Not even attempting sales today!!! Staying home, taking down Autumn decos to make room for Christmas decos. Tomorrow, we will go to a quaint little place in the woods where there is a Christmas Bazaar and tree permits. We will cut down a tree, and peek at the Bazaar. Usually, we have a cup of soup at the Bazaar, but this year we will take a picnic. Turkey sandwiches perhaps..... :) We cannot put the tree up yet, it will be at my tea first then we can bring it home to decorate next weekend. I might do some of that today with what I do not need for my tea.

There is a chance I will not get to do my really fun and lovely Nutcracker Tea!! Have not had very many calls.....and today is the deadline.....it is a very busy weekend in our town, too much going on. If that is the case, I will quickly switch gears to put some of these things I have been making into my Etsy shop. As much as I just love doing teas and do them for others enjoyment, this one was going to help with our house payment.....that is why I would quick do Etsy. If you feel prompted, please pray about that......Bless you all on this day after Thanksgiving!!