Wordless Wednesday-snow



Scandinavian Kringler ~ Tasty Tuesday

This pastry is wonderful...almost beyond words. I do love my Italian roots, but this makes me *almost* want to be Scandinavian!

Scandinavian Kringler ~ a most delightful pastry 



Crust:

1 c. flour

½ c. butter chilled

2-3 Tbs. cold water

Topping:

1 c. water

½ c. butter

1 c. flour

3 eggs

½ tsp. almond extract

Frosting:

1c. powdered sugar

1 Tbs. butter softened

½ tsp. almond extract

2-3 Tbs. milk or cream

¼ c. sliced almonds or chopped nuts

Place 1 cup flour in small bowl. Using pastry blender, cut in ½ c. butter until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle with ice water 1Tbs. at a time. Stir with fork until soft dough forms. form dough into ball. Divide dough in half. Form each half into 12 inch rope. On ungreased cookie sheet, flatten each rope into 12x3 inch strip.

Heat oven to 350. In medium saucepan, bring 1 c. water and ½ c. butter to a boil. Remove from heat. Immediately stir in 1c. four until smooth. Add eggs 1 at a time, beating util smooth after each addition. Stir in ½ tsp. almond ext. Spoon half of batter over each crust. spreading to within ¼ inch of edges. Bake at 350for 50-60 minutes. or until golden brown. and puffy. Immediately remove from cookie sheet; cool. Sprinkle with Almonds.

Tasty Thursday? ~ Java Chip Frappucinno's

Well, this was supposed to be this weeks tasty tuesday recipe and was scheduled as so, but it disappeared into computer no where land. Thus....tasty thursday

Java Chip Frappucinno's ~ cheaper by the dozen style

I will put the main way we make them at our house now, plus a couple of variations.

2 shots of espresso ( or 1/4 cup strong coffee)

1 cup milk

2 to 2 1/2 cups ice

1/4- 1/3 cup hershey's syrup

2- 3 heaping tbsp hot cocoa mix

a handful of mini chocolate chips (regular size just isn't as good)

big, fat straws (for the chocolate chips to go through ☺

Blend all in the blender until ice is well blended.  Makes 2 good size cups.

Variation #1 (I made the java chips this way before I got my espresso maker)

1/4 cup french vanilla cafe or cafe mocha (from General Foods International Coffee or the wal-mart version or cappuccino mix)

1 cup milk

2 to 2 1/2 cups ice

handful of mini chocolate chips

a few swirls of hersheys syrup

Blend all until well blended in blender.

Variation #2

this is how I make it to be 'healthy'-avoiding corn syrup and trans fats

1 cup milk

2 shots of espresso

2 to 2 1/2 cups ice

3- 4 tbsp of ghiradelli chocolate powder (presweetened)

handful of mini chocolate chips

Blend as above.

Enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday ~ Biscuits and chocolate gravy

 Tasty Tuesday

While we were in Alabama this summer, our dear friend Betty made us biscuits and chocolate gravy. We had never heard of such a thing...but we were sweetly surprised. Yummy x 100! The gravy is so good, it doesn't even need biscuits ☺. The girls eat the leftovers for dessert and snacks throughout the day, not just breakfast.
    Without further ado....the recipes

                          Flaky Quick Biscuits
                          8 cups flour (we sometimes use unbleached, and sometimes use 1/2 unbleached and 1/2 whole wheat)

1/3 cup baking powder

2 tsp salt

3/4 cup shortening (I use coconut oil)

4 cups milk

Mix together dry ingredients, cut in coconut oil with 2 knives until crumbly. Then add your milk. Roll into a log about 3 inches thick and cut into 1/2 inch slices OR roll out and cut with a biscuit or cookie cutters. Bake on an ungreased baking sheet (we use a stone) for 12 minutes at 450.  These are yummy too.

Chocolate Gravy

1 1/2 cups sugar

6 Tbsp cocoa

6 Tbsp flour

pinch salt

4 cups milk

4 tbsp butter

2 tsp vanilla

Stir dry ingredients together in a medium saucepan. Mix in milk slowly. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until thick and smooth. Add butter and vanilla. Serve over hot biscuits. ~NOTE: this is big happy family size. If you don't have a big family and don't want leftovers, you might want to cut it in half.

If you try these out, let me know what you think!

Multitude Monday

                                



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I am grateful for our Keepers at Home group. We have participated for 10 years, since Kelsey was 9. Hard to believe how much we have learned and how much fellowship we have been blessed by.  Here are Kelsey, Kate, Mary and Emily at "The Chocolate Thimble" in Churubusco, Indiana for a chocolate making class. They made caramel and chocolate dipped apples, white chocolate pretzel drops, and white chocolate dipped oreos. What a fun day.

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Tea Sets lots of lovely little tea sets. My dear mother-in-law gets each child a tea set around their 3 birthday. We have a beautiful collection of them. To make sure they get used and enjoy the blessing she has given us, we have each child's birthday breakfast be a "tea party breakfast". The child picks whose tea sets we will use in addition to their own (since it takes several to 'tea' us all), and which foods they would like the most. Then we hang up their birthday flag (another gift made by mother-in-law) and make the special breakfast with lots of tea (and lots of sugar). The tea pot above is Valerie Hope's, who just celebrated her third birthday with homemade caramel rolls and homemade turkey sausage (thank you chef Emily).  Thank you Lord for many tea pots, many children to have tea parties for, and many good chefs to make the meals special and unique.

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Byron Thanksgiving. Our church meets in a nursing home named Byron, at state run nursing home with many severly handicapped people as well as elderly . Each year our church makes a super sized Thanksgiving dinner and serves it to all the residents in the activity room of Byron. It takes two nights for us to feed all the residents. What a blessing we receive in serving these special people. I'm guessing most don't see relatives for the holidays and they show such joy at the big meal they are served. It is a blessing for our families to sit in their midst and share in their joy as we serve them. It is our hope that they will see the light of Jesus and learn how very much He loves them and how important they are to Him.

And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me. Matthew 25:40



      

0048  The best daddy ever...the leader of our wonderful 'cheaper by the dozen'. He deserves way more numbers in my multitude Mondays than one. He loves all the children, great and small, and always welcomes another with great delight.

 He doesn't mind the noise (and very much helps create it), the commotion (well, he helps with this too), and the work. He is seldom in the door before being requested for many different things-and they even meet him at his car at times..."dad, will you hold the baby?", "dad, can I have water?", "can we go to the park?", "did you hear what I did today?", "look at my bruise, scrape, bump, etc...". And he smiles, and is glad to be home. He puts on his comfy clothes and shoes and gets ready to be messy, if needed (with 4 six and under this is often). Since Mommy is often tired and tapped out, he willingly jumps in and helps. He is even patient with us when he gets home late from work and the many eaters have eaten it all and didn't save him any (sometimes the table clearers will munch on what remains, forgetting some haven't eaten).
         
He is a great husband too. In 19 years, we've had 12 children. That means lots of morning sickness and tiredness for me. In my early pregnancy he offers 10pm runs to subway or pizza hut or whatever place he think will help me to feel better and forget the yuckiness. And he willingly puts everyone to bed so I can get in bed myself sooner.  He doesn't act like a tornado hit, when indeed it does look like one did at times.  I am blessed and I am loved. Thank you Lord.

And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elias, to turn the hearts of the fathers to the children, and the disobedient to the wisdom of the just; to make ready a people prepared for the Lord. Luke 1:17
 

   0049Fall, leaves, sunset. God's creation is a work of art in every season. Beautiful handiwork. Hard to describe His infinite-ness with our tiny little comprehension. But...none the less, I am grateful. And He is good, all the time.


To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

     0050 many, many, many Tomatoes! Our amish friend called and offered me 5 bushels of tomatoes for $5 a box. I said "Doug, what do I do, I'm deathly ill with morning (all day) sickness?" to which he replies "$5 is a really good price, and we do love salsa". SO...with children still groaning, I picked up our tomatoes, peppers and onions and away we went. The children and our friend Anna made the work much easier than the days when I did it alone. We made one fresh batch of salsa to eat all day as we made our canned salsa (fresh salsa is incomparable, you absolutely must try it sometime). We cored, peeled, chopped,  and mixed our tomatoes into a delightful salsa potion in our most giant stockpot. And we munched, and filled jars, and canned them outside on our turkey propane burners in canning pots.

 Yum, and whew, and wow, my tongue is on fire, and can you believe how many bags of tortilla chips we have eaten today, and isn't God good to get me through this with many able daughters and a very sick stomach. What a beautiful day of hard work and more of God's amazing creation to enjoy all year long. Now where on earth are we going to put all these jars?

 

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I am so grateful for my Grandmother Carmen. She is wonderful,and this is the shore of the lake she lives on, right by her dock. She lives 'up north' in the upper peninsula of Michigan.

She is one of my favorite people ever. Energetic, a server, fabulous cook, caring, creative, resourceful, quilter, knitter, crocheter, woodworker, gardener, nurse, cross-stitcher, needle worker, outstanding mother, grandmother and great grandmother. She is one of the most hard working people I have ever met. If she isn't working really hard with her hands she is sitting in her chair, with her lap desk, drafting ideas, jobs, plans, quilts, etc... Amazing, and a true Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 woman.  I love you Grandma and am so grateful God put me in your family.

The hoary head is a crown of glory, if it be found in the way of righteousness. Proverbs 16:31

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Alaina J...10 years old. Big smile, the only child of mine that looks like a 'good, hearty Italian', like her heritage. Did I say big smile? She is silly & crazy and loves to play outside with all the things most people throw away (and *should* throw away, thank you). She takes odd scraps of wood and leftover containers from restaurants and cottage cheese containers and big swiss miss cartons and builds what Doug calls 'shanty homes' all over our back yard. The littles all adore her, who wouldn't....a big sister who helps make a mess ☺. Oh yes and the mud, I didn't mention the mud pies and cookies and ...well, you get the idea. She is darling, and I love her to pieces. She is also a big help in the kitchen, and with James and at doing her school. We have definitely decided to keep this one.  Thank you Lord for our dear Alaina.

Tasty Tuesday ~ Tuna Noodles Romanoff

Tuna Noodles Romanoff

serves 10-12

16 oz cooked egg noodles

3 cups sour cream

1 tsp garlic, minced

1 tsp salt

1 cup shredded cheddar

3 cups cottage cheese

3 tsp worcestershire sauce

2-4 cans drained tuna (we use 2 to be frugal)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Mix noodles, cottage cheese, sour cream, garlic, worcestershire sauce, salt & tuna. Put into greased 13 x 9. Sprinkle cheese over top and bake 30-45 minutes or until hot throughout.

This recipe is one that our family has made for 20 years. It is out of my Mom's old recipes. It is also very yummy with buttered, crushed crackers on top.

~Enjoy~

The Common Room's Potluck Saturday

In Memory of my precious Mom ~Happy 59th Birthday

 Today...my mom, my precious mom, would have turned 59.  She died 4 years ago, in September, of lung, brain and breast cancer. It was a 7 month battle. She found out in February, right after being here for Alaina's 6th birthday, and a month before Paul Robert was born.

I miss her...it sounds small. It is such an understatement. It has been 4 painful years.
             My memories, our memories...of her, are many. and precious. But it still hurts. She was a part of our life, daily life, in so many ways. Even our children who barely knew her, or didn't get to know her, talk of her as if they did.

I miss...her loving all her grandkids,even when she didn't think she could love more than one.

I miss...her daily phone call to see what was for dinner.

              I miss her making me go to the mall the day after I had a baby, just to get it a beautiful new gymboree blanket and outfit...promising me I could just sit on the bench while she and the kids shopped and then calling me in the store to help pick out one.☺           

                          I miss all the special things she did for me as a child...making me coconut custard pie as an after-school snack...or orange julius's...or golden graham mix.

                                     ....for never letting me have the stomach flu alone, she was always by my side, rubbing my head, pulling back my hair (and I had the stomach flu *alot*).

                                             ......for tucking me in everynight (even as an adult when she would come to visit) and tucking all the sheets in the mattress once I was in bed like I was in an envelope (which I promptly undid when she left the room)

                                                    ....how she would have me sit at the kitchen table after school while she showed me all the things she got at the grocery store with double coupons that were free, or almost free.                     

  And how she told me to enunciate every morning as I headed out to the bus stop.

                                                                                      

She made each of my children feel like queen or king on their birthdays. Using all her vacation days to come for them. Letting them pick where they wanted to eat for lunch and dinner.

I miss some of the funny things she said...calling the kids "slackers" when they were slow with dishes....telling them it was time to "shake and move" to get us out the door sooner if we had somewhere to go. Looking at my large brood of kids, ages 8 and under and saying "come on guys, let's kick butt and take names". ☺

                    She may not have agreed with everything we did, or said, but she didn't let on. She loved us, accepted us and gave to us beyond generously...even when she wouldn't buy herself anything. It was how she was. She gave...and gave and gave.

                                                                       My children learned from her how to work hard, and not complain. How to get things really clean. How to be the most diligent employee an employer could ever have. How to give of yourself, even at the cost of self-sacrifice. How to love way beyond yourself, even when you think you can't.

                              She may be gone from our lives, but she left a legacy that none of us will forget. And memories for us to hold in our hearts and our hands. Blessed memories.                           

                                                   I love you Mom....



Grandma Lannoo visits

We were all very blessed to have my dear, 86 year old grandmother here for a little over a week. It was sad to see her go back home.
                  She is so very grateful for all the ways our family shows her love; making her tea, helping her with her 'stockings', cooking her extra special meals that she doesn't get at home, showing her our scrapbooks, and spending time with her.

          The discussions we have with her are lively and interesting and vary from herbs to history to Christianity to her childhood. We all learn new things while she is here and she brings many smiles to our day.

Once upon a time, grandma had many children, small and great, all over her lap and beside her for story time. Someone was always bringing her a book, either to read to them, or to see what we were learning or one we knew she'd love. Grandma loves to learn (I can see an inherited trait here), she still loves to learn how to take care of herself naturally. She was reading several herb books while here and wanting to try new things. I hope I still want to learn new things at 86, if the Lord grants me the years.

The highlight of her trip for most of us, was taking Grandma to the zoo. She had never been before in her life. She was exclaiming and thrilled the whole way through. I know the wheel chair ride didn't feel all that good to her, especially the bumpy terrain of some parts, but she was a trooper. I even got her to ride the train and feed the ducks and geese. We wanted to feed the giraffes too, but they weren't interested on this particular day.

I heard a speaker at the homeschool convention in Indianapolis in the spring of this year. The thing that stood out to me the most was, not to let the years pass in our childrens lives without having them learn, really learn, who their parents and grandparents are and were. Ask questions...lots of questions and learn living history.

                                                  My grandmother lived through the depression. Such neat stories she has told us. My dad went to school in an old one room school house.

       Don't let the important things of each day crowd out the relationships and the memories that make our lives richer and deeper.

Thank you Grandma, we love you!

wordless wednesday-gator

And he shall be like a tree planted by the rivers of water, that bringeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatsoever he doeth shall prosper.  Psalm 1:3

tasty tuesday ~ crepes

Oh how we love crepes! This week's tasty Tuesday recipe is

Crepes

6 cups milk

6 eggs

3 tbsp melted butter

3/4 tsp vanilla extract

3 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tbsp sugar (we use evaporated cane juice)

3/4 tsp salt

Combine all ingredients in a bowl to form a thin batter. Spray no-stick spray in a large skillet. Let skillet heat up to medium heat for a few minutes. Pour batter into hot skillet to make a 6 inch round crepe. Tilt the pan as needed to spread the batter out. These should be very thin. Cook until edges are dry and curl up a little (up to a minute). Flip carefully and cook another 20-30 seconds. Remove while still pale.

You can butter these and sprinke with powdered sugar, although we usually just sprinkle with the sugar. Then we fill and roll up. We like to fill them with fresh berries or frozen berries made into a syrup. We also sometimes mix a package of cream cheese with a cup of powdered sugar and a little vanilla and fill with the cream and then berries and bananas. You can also serve with maple syrup or jam.

Let us know if you make them and how you like them! Our crepe maker at the cheaper by the dozen house is 12 year old Mary. Most of the other cooks aren't patient enough to take the time to cook them. Thank you Mary!



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I am Very grateful for my newly cleaned out and painted laundry/sewing room. I had many diligent daughters that helped me with the project. A giant task that started as a little cleaning job. It grew and grew, and what a blessing it is to me now.

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DeBrands sundae. Yum. A birthday gift from one of my daughters. Tart raspberry sauce, milk chocolate sauce in a chocolate bowl with homemade vanilla ice cream. almost too pretty to eat, but not quite. Thanks Hannah!

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What is it about 2 year olds that is so delightful? Maybe the cheeks, or the big eyes, or the constant chatter. I know one thing for sure, you don't need tv if you have toddlers.

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Most of my children got free horseback rides from a friend at church as a surprise. What a blessing to them and to me. Thanks Abigail, your kindness brought such joy to so many kids that day.

0041

Katie bug was blessed by being able to be on her favorite beast. She got to have 2 lessons this summer. The next best thing to owning a horse. What a joyful day, thank you Lord for providing the means.

0042

Delighful. Busy. Beautiful. My little baby boy, 15 months, is a continual reason to give thanks. I don't deserve the way the Lord has filled my hands with so many blessings. But I gratefully and humbly take on the task each morning.

0043

Getting to spend my mother-in-law's birthday with her and all of us was a blessing. Isaiah and all the kids worked hard on art to give her. We are so grateful for all the time and love she has invested in our children. Making gingerbread houses, baking cookies, doing crafts, having tea parties...and all the special gifts she makes them; raggedy ann or andy when they are one, a birthday flag when they are two, a tea set when they are three. So many memories, one super Gramzpamz.

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How precious to still have my 86 year old grandmother. And how wonderful that she came to stay with us for a week. She is one of 14 children and the daughter of to full blooded Italian parents. She is such a blessing to spend time with. We had the joy and priviledge of taking her to the zoo for the first time in her life in October. I wish I had the visit on video tape. It was wonderful.

Tasty Tuesday

A new idea...tasty tuesday, sharing one or more of my favorite recipes each week. As long as the Lord allows me the time, here they shall be.

             Emma, my dear 13 year old is chef of the day today and has made us one of our very favorite recipes for breakfast. Lemon Tea Muffins. They are delightful with a cup of tea, and also delightful without the tea.

Lemon Tea Muffins

4 cups flour (we use 1/2 whole wheat, typically)

2 cups sugar (we use turbinado, sucanat or evaporated cane)

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1 cup buttermilk (we use our raw milk)

1/4 cup lemon juice

1 tsp grated lemon peel, optional

1 tsp lemon extract

1 cup chopped walnuts or pecans

4 eggs

1 cup oil

TOPPING:

1/2 cup sugar

1/4 cup flour

2 tbsp butter

Directions:

Combine dry ingredients and nuts. Then add wet ingredients, mix just until all is moistened. Put into 36 greased or paper lined muffin tins. Mix topping by combining sugar and flour and cutting in butter, until it resembles course crumbs. Sprinkle on the muffins. Bake at 400 for 12-15 minutes. These freeze well.

Enjoy!

Multitude Monday

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To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven. Ecclesiastes 3:1

Fall...what a wonderful time of year. I am grateful God gives us a change of scenery 4 times a year. What a blessing to see the leaves changing colors and falling from the trees, and knowing God has a purpose in it all. What a good reminder, that no matter what we go through in our lives, God has a purpose in it all.

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One of my favorite times in our daily schedule is at 9 am. We gather after our quiet time, breakfast and morning chores for our Bible memory work and hymn sing time. We start with the oldest, and let them pick the hymns, and work our way down to the youngest who can read or sing. If time doesn't allow for all to pick songs, we let the next one be the first to pick the next day. We were abundantly blessed a few months ago by a local church with several boxes of hymnals they no longer used. We were thrilled!  Not only enough for us and when we have large families over, but enough to share with 2 other families and still have a few extra to use in our visual journals, tore up. Thank you Lord!

  

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My precious Hopie girl, sweet sissy bear, I love her so much. She is almost 3 and not to be intimidated by having 2 brothers above her and 1 brother under her in the birth order. She can hold her own, and if you didn't know her family, would think she was a first born. She talks, and talks and talks. In beautiful little chatter. I'm quite sure she will grow up to be one of the biggest helpers I've got. We recently found out she has a heart murmur and are praying it is nothing serious and that God would heal her.

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Oh what a beautiful sight home canned peaches are. And they taste even better than they look. We had the blessed privilege of having Mrs Prentice help us can our 3 bushels this year. She is such a diligent server and blesses our family beyond measure with her help each Thursday. God provides in so many ways, above all we could ask or think.

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Here we are...on Resurrection Sunday at Grammy's house. I am grateful for our large family, with both hands full. I am grateful for in-laws willing to have us over for a wonderful meal and filling more eggs than any other human ever has in order to hide them for the children. I am grateful that we have many bouncing, jumping, running legs in our family. I am also grateful that no one got smashed in our jumping pictures. ☺

 

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Paul, darling, charming, busy, hungry, loud...repeat. I'm quite sure there has never been another like him. He is an original. Which makes every day with him new and exciting and...well...busy, and noisy. I no longer carry on phone conversations in the house. I go to the garage. You never know when a pirate, a policeman, a fire truck, an indian, or some other 'thing' will erupt into loud whoops and hollers in our home...so to be safe, I just go to the garage. And if you have ever seen our garage, well, you know that he must be very loud for me to spend any amount of time out there. ☺

Valerie Hope

-Valerie Hope-

playing @ the park

The hand of the diligent shall bear rule: but the slothful shall be under tribute. Proverbs 12:24

We use chore packs from Steve and Teri Maxwell's book "Managers of Their Chores". I just love them. With our big happy family, chores are a constant necessity. After a few months of doing our chore packs, the children were a little less than motivated to get their chore packs on and begin in the morning. I was talking with the Lord about this and an idea came to my mind.

When I sat down with the children at breakfast, I told them we would no longer have any desserts or treats unless it was a birthday or holiday. Then came the exception. For every chore pack card they complete, they get one point. If they do jobs over and above their chore packs they get two points, and if for every subject in school they get done, they also get a point.

I also expanded this to special events. If they get a large amount of points in a day, we can go to the park, the library, the zoo....etc... It also works in reverse, one Thursday of each month my oldest daughter organizes a volleyball/ultimate frisbee/park day for all the families at our church. The children have to have so many points to be able to attend. This week, we have a similar even and they all need 45 points to go.

Each week, Kate prints me off "chore point checksheets" to tape up on the dining room wall. Then, as the kids complete jobs, schools or extra things they put tally marks in their daily box. 

Now, I my management job is a little easier and I am so grateful to the Lord for His creativity. I am also grateful to the Lord for the hands full of blessings He has allowed me to train. He must have known I'd be lazy if I had any free time ☺.

May God bless your days with creativity!

Enjoy the pictures of our park trip at the end of a high-point earning day.

yes, we stayed until dark....

Multitude Monday

0021.Oh how very grateful I am for our precious first born boy. Isaiah. What a wonderful, splendid young man he is. The first boy after 8 girls, we never thought we'd see the day. We are sure glad we did. He is a delightful 5, almost 6 year old. He loves being with Mom. He also loves playing with his playmobil, his little brothers, little sister and all the big sisters God gave him. Everyone who sees him says he looks like his daddy. He looks remarkably like my dad as well.

0022.
I am so abundantly blessed by all the hand-me-downs that people have given to us. Our little James is wearing a hat and jacket given to us by friends. We have probably spent less than $50 on our 3 boys total in their lives on clothes or shoes. Isn't God good to provide for all of our needs?

0023.The first little flowers to poke their heads up in our front bed are crocuses. We have a few colors, but I'm partial to the purple ones. Aren't they beautiful?

0024. Coffee beans...beautiful little coffee beans ☺. They are the perfect pairing for chocolate. Actually chocolate, ice, milk, chocolate chips and a little Hershey's syrup...all blended together. My daughter, Kate, ground 2 pounds of beans for me to make espresso for frappuccinos at the older church kids volleyball/ultimate frisbee party a few weeks back.

0025.I have this wonderful Grandmother who is gifted with so many skills and talents. Gramma Carmen is so willing to share new things with us and even teach us to do them when we come to visit. This past fall, when we went 'up north' to visit her, she taught all of us to make hand-sewn pin cushions. Some of my daughters surprised me with how they liked/disliked hand sewing. My daughter with a custom sewing web-site HATED the hand sewing. My daughter who isn't usually patient enough for much sewing, LOVED it.  Live and learn ☺.

0026. Being the mom of a super-sized family, I get the extra blessing of the many adoreable faces the kids make. 2 year olds seem to make especially cute ones...who needs tv?

0027.Thank you Lord for "chef of the day". At our house all of the girls 11 and up get a day of the week to be chef. Today is Kate's day...thank you God for Kate!

0028.Modest swimwear. I am exceedingly thankful to be able to have all my daughters go to pools and public places in modest swimsuits. One of my favorite companies is http://www.wholesomewear.com/ . They are comfortable and you actually feel dressed while swimming.

0029.We have been so blessed to attend our church, Keefer Creek Baptist Church, for 11 years now. We meet in a state-run nursing home as a ministry to the patients. This has given all of us an appreciation for all the people God has made...we are all creations of His. I am so grateful also for our Pastor and his humble, teachable spirit. He is always willing to learn from God and share with us what the Lord is teaching him.

0030.Last year at Christmas our children were all wonderfully blessed by a surprise box in the mail that contained new jammies for each of them. God gives us so much more than we deserve.