Mar. 27, 2008 - Natural easter egg dye

Well, we decided this year to try a more natural way of dyeing our Easter eggs.

They definitely did not dye as quickly as regular dye.  We just used what we had on hand. 

The top egg was from about 1 cup beet juice, 1/2 tsp. vinegar and 3 cups water.

The bottom purple egg was from 1 cup grape juice, 1/2 tsp. vinegar and 3 cups water.

The orange egg was from about 2 onion peels, 1/2 tsp. vinegar and 3 cups water.  We boiled this mixture for about 15 minutes.  This one is our favorite.  The color was really bright and rich.  The rest were okay. 

We may try spinach next year, as I heard that is really good for green and tumeric seasoning for yellow.

 

 

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Mar. 24, 2008 - Winding Paths

A friend sent me this article from the Above Rubies newsletter.  I found it to be a good reminder.  Enjoy!

 

WINDING PATHS 

Isaiah 40:3-5, "The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed ..." 

We read in Luke 3:3-6 that John the Baptist came as "the voice of one crying in the wilderness" to prepare the way of the Lord. Each one of the Gospel writers confirms this--Matthew 3:1-4; Mark 1:1-2 and John 1:23. The last verses of the Old Testament also prophesy it and  Luke 1:16-17 and 76 fulfill the prophecy. These Scriptures explain in more detail exactly what it means to prepare the way for the Lord--"And he shall go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah, 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." 

To prepare the way for the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, John had to make the way straight. He was anointed to "turn the hearts of the fathers (which includes the mothers too) to the children ..." But the prophetic word of Malachi 4:5-6 says that it must happen again "before the coming of the great and terrible day of the Lord." We are getting close to this time. It is time to prepare. It is time to straighten the paths. 

When the hearts of fathers and mothers are not turned to their children, they are on a crooked path. There are many deviant paths in this humanistic world. There are luring detours off the straight road. They may look enticing. They may even seem the right way, but they are often subtle "windings" to steer us away from God's perfect plan. Yes, this is what the Knox version calls them, "the windings are to be cut straight." 

Are you on a winding path? Sometimes you don't even realize it until you get lost; until you wake up to find that the devil's tempting ways are not what they seem; until your family life is out of order and you wonder why. Perhaps, without realizing it, you have landed up on a winding path of independence from your husband. You are too busy to serve him and your family. Perhaps you have got on a crooked path of busyness--running here and there, attending this meeting and that, getting involved with this organization and that. You are in a whirlwind of activity. It seems great, but where is this winding path taking you? What will be the end result? 

It's a long way off the path God planned for you as a mother--to be nestled in the heart of your home. And what are your children learning? That life consists in going to this and that, being involved in this sport and that organization and not having time to sit around the dinner table together? Will they ever learn the power of the home? That in the home great things can happen. It is here they learn the pattern to pass on to the next generation. They have time to create, think great thoughts and bask in the joy of home and family life. 

Our children will follow the path we take. We dare not take them down winding paths of deception. The decisions we make and the paths we choose will determine the course of not only our children, but generations to come. 

Keep alert for these crooked roads and remember that we only prove the salvation and deliverance of the Lord on the straight path. It is only on the straight path that His glory is revealed. He wants to show His power in your life--to bridge the lonely valleys with His love and compassion; to level every mountain that looks impossible in the natural but can melt in the power and presence of His Spirit and to cut a straight path of truth through all the windings that criss-cross over and back through God's straight road. Will you let Him lead you? 

I love the Way's translation of 2 Timothy 2:15, "Be earnest ... a labourer who needs not to blush for his work, but who drives the ploughshare of truth in a straight furrow."

Love from NANCY CAMPBELL 

PRAYER: 

"Father, I ask that you will help me to keep on your straight path, never turning to the right or the left. Please expose every winding path the beckons me away from your truth." Amen." 

AFFIRMATION: 

I will plough a straight furrow in my life and the life of my family. 

Many women like to save these devotions. They

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Mar. 21, 2008 - Barn Dance

It has been awhile since I have been on here.  We have been incredibly busy and so my computer time has been very scarce.

Last week we went to a good old fashioned barn dance and had so much fun.  Here are some of the pictures of us swinging round and round!

 

 

 

 

Notice the hair flying!  What fun we were having!

We also were able to see maple syrup be extracted from the maple trees, and a prairie fire.  I really wasn't able to get any good pictures of the syruping, but here is a picture of the fire.

 

What a wonderful way to spend an evening.  We are all still talking about it, and how we can't wait until next year.

 

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Mar. 13, 2008 - Science Experiments

Tuesday night we had a Science night for our homeschool group.  I thought I would share some of the experiments we gave away as door prizes.  None of them are hard and you should have most of the ingredients on hand.

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Mar. 10, 2008 - Miss Potter

I checked out the movie Miss Potter from the library the other day.  My husband and I sat down to watch it last night.  I really enjoyed the movie. 

 It was about Beatrix Potter's life.  My girls really enjoyed the movie too.  We love all her books and it was nice to learn a little about her life.  If you are looking for action and a fast paced movie, this is NOT the movie for you.  But if you are looking for a good, clean movie you may want to check it out!  I am not going to say anymore as I think you just need to watch it and form your own opinion!

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Mar. 7, 2008 - Eggless Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

Yesterday evening I needed a dessert as we were having a few people over for a prayer meeting.  I started making  my hubby's favorite peanut butter bars, only I added 1tsp. salt instead of 1/4 tsp. (That's what I get for trying to talk on the phone and bake!)  I tried the dough and it wasn't to bad,  and I don't like throwing things out, so I baked them or rather burnt them!!

  Well on to plan B......  I really didn't have a Plan B and I really didn't have any more eggs. I even sent one of my girls out to try and choke an egg out of our chickens with no luck!  A person kinda needs eggs to bake!  I am so thankful for internet!  I quickly popped on here and went to www.allrecipes.com and found an eggless cookie.  I reluctantly served them last night, and to my surprise they were not bad!  Everyone here had more than one and I only have one left!  Now they are not quite as good as cookies with eggs, but in a pinch or if you are trying to be more thrifty on the amount of eggs you use they would work!

Eggless Chocolate Peanut Butter Cookies

2 cups flour                                          2 Tbsp. brown sugar ( I used Sucanat)

1 tsp.baking soda                              1/2 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking powder                          1/4 cup cocoa powder ( 6 Tbsp. more)

1/4 tsp. salt                                           1/3 cup peanut butter (I used 1/2 cup crunchy)

3/4 cup butter, softened                       1/2 cup milk

1 cup sugar ( I used evaporated cane juice)

Sift together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Set aside. 

Cream together butter, sugar, and brown sugar in a large bowl.  Mix in vanilla and cocoa powder, then add peanut butter, and stir until smooth. Gradually mix in the sifted ingredients until well blended.  Pour milk into dough, and stir until fully combined.

Drop by heaping teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake at 375 for 11 to 13 minutes or until edges are lightly browned.  For a crunchier cookie, bake a minute or two more.  Enjoy~

I will make these again  and experiment with them.  I may add some other ingredients like oatmeal or coconut.    I would also like to try them with whole wheat flour and  my natural peanut butter to see how they taste.

For more fun, frugal ideas Crystal over http://www.biblicalwomanhoodonline.com/blog.htm   is hosting Frugal Friday. Check it out!

 

                                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                       

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Mar. 5, 2008 - The Cookie Thief

The Cookie Thief
by Valerie Cox

A woman was waiting at an airport one night,
With several long hours before her flight.
She hunted for a book in the airport shops.
Bought a bag of cookies and found a place to drop.

She was engrossed in her book but happened to see,
That the man sitting beside her, as bold as could be.
Grabbed a cookie or two from the bag in between,
Which she tried to ignore to avoid a scene.

So she munched the cookies and watched the clock,
As the gutsy cookie thief diminished her stock.
She was getting more irritated as the minutes ticked by,
Thinking, "If I wasn't so nice, I would blacken his eye."

With each cookie she took, he took one too,
When only one was left, she wondered what he would do.
With a smile on his face, and a nervous laugh,
He took the last cookie and broke it in half.

He offered her half, as he ate the other,
She snatched it from him and thought... oooh, brother.
This guy has some nerve and he's also rude,
Why he didn't even show any gratitude!

She had never known when she had been so galled,
And sighed with relief when her flight was called.
She gathered her belongings and headed to the gate,
Refusing to look back at the thieving ingrate.

She boarded the plane, and sank in her seat,
Then she sought her book, which was almost complete.
As she reached in her baggage, she gasped with surprise,
There was her bag of cookies, in front of her eyes.

If mine are here, she moaned in despair,
The others were his, and he tried to share.
Too late to apologize, she realized with grief,
That she was the rude one, the ingrate, the thief.

How many times in our lives,
have we absolutely known
that something was a certain way,
only to discover later that
what we believed to be true ... was not?

 

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Mar. 4, 2008 - A Birthday

Yesterday was our youngest daughters birthday.  She turned six.  Yikes!  When did that happen! 

She had a couple of friends over in the afternoon and we had a tea party.

 

Teddy bear rolls

 

Fruit Kabobs

The dirt cake.  Each girl had their own little flower pot of cake.

 

The girls getting their dolls ready for their own little b-day party.

They had a really fun afternoon.  They did a fun craft, and played a couple of old fashioned games.  We played a game called "Button, Button, Where's the button."  It was so cute to watch them get so excited trying to find who had the button.  What a wonderful day for a wonderful girl!

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Feb. 29, 2008 - Tiny Treats

The other day my girls decided to make treats for their American Girl dolls.  Everything turned out so cute and they had such a blast making and eating their creations.

They made eggs, smores, cakes and a few other yummy things.  Of course it was all pure sugar and not good for them! :0)  After they made their treats they set up our living room with their dolls and played the entire afternoon!  I love when they do this sort of thing. 

 Here is the book you can get it at the American Girls website, or Amazon.com which is  where I copied the picture from. Either place is about $9.99, but I always love to order from Amazon and order something else I need and get free shipping.

Have a good day!

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Feb. 29, 2008 - Day of Fun!

Today the girls and I are going to a friend's house.  We hardly ever see them and it is a little farther drive than we normally like to make.  I think it will be an enjoyable day though.  I am looking forward to taking the day off and not doing much school. 

Tomorrow we are headed to a Robotics tournament.  A couple of guys from our church are competing and we thought the girls would enjoy watching the different robots compete.

Sunday is church.  We have our monthly potluck service and afternoon service following.

Whew!  I am starting to get tired just thinking about all we have going on.  We will stay home all next week, except church on Wednesday so it won't be to bad.

Hope you all have a nice weekend!

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Feb. 26, 2008 - Staying Home

I was asked to participate over at www.becentsable.blogspot.com   for their Tipster Tuesday.

I would like to talk about Staying Home.  When I first became a stay at home mom I really was never home.  I ran around town and visited with my family or friends.  My house was picked up and I always had supper on the table, but my oldest daughter, which was our only child at the time, never had a good consistent nap, never had time to just sit and play with her toys or play outside at home.  When she about 2 1/2 years old we had another little one and we moved to a different state.  From that time on the Lord has been working in my heart to stay home more.

We now have 4 children whom we homeschool, and I try to only go out once a week.  In doing this I am able to:

1. Keep up on my house cleaning.

2. Have time to spend with each of my girls one on one.

3. Make yummy, healthy meals for my family.

4. Save money.  If I'm not going into town all the time, then I'm not tempted to purchase things I don't really need. 

5. Stick to my budget.  I have also found my budget works much better, when I'm not out their spending.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture.  Life is so much more relaxing and enjoyable when I am home more.  For me in order to truly be a keeper at home and a helpmeet to my husband I need to keep staying at home a top priority.

How about you?  Do you feel frazzled at the end of the week, from all the running here and there?  Let me challenge you to pick a number of days (in a row if possible) and try to stay home for those days.  Just try it and see if you don't feel more rested and accomplished and you just might save some money in the process!

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Feb. 22, 2008 - Miracle II Soap

Crystal over at BiblicalWomanhoo.com is having her weekly frugal Friday. 

I thought I'd share something that is frugal for us.  We have been trying to eat more healthy for about 1 1/2 years now.  We started following Nourishing Traditions about that time.  One of the things that really became obvious was that most toothpaste isn't not actually good for you or your teeth.  We started looking for something that would be better for our health and our teeth. 

That's when we came across Miracle II Soap.  Yes, it is  soap and it does taste a  like soap.( don't eat it and you'll be fine :0)  We water it down and it actually works well. 

The great thing about this soap, is that you can use it for your face, body wash, hair.  I use it to shave.   We also use the Neutralizer Gel.  My husband cannot shave with soap and so he uses this gel, we use it as a soother if we get sunburned or it can be used as a sudless soap.  We have a small bottle with a squeeze top on it that we put the Miracle II in.  We use about 1/2 soap 1/2 water.

The bottle of Miracle II runs around $13 a bottle which lasts of for about 6 months or so.  I figure that's pretty good, considering we are a family of 6.  I do keep a bar of natural soap in the shower for overnight guests, and sometimes my kiddos will use that. 

Even though the soap is not something I can get at CVS or Walgreens, I still consider it a frugal item, since I can use it for many different purposes.

 

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Feb. 22, 2008 - Husband still sick

Well my husband is still sick.... I am starting to get concerned.  He just can't seem to shake this which is so unusual for him.  He has a pretty horrible sounding dry cough, fever, aches, runny nose, burning sore throat.

  I've mentioned that it may be time for him to visit the Dr.  It will be 2 weeks on Monday since he first became sick.   He wants to give it a few more days.  Please pray that he will start to feel better soon!  Thanks!

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Feb. 20, 2008 - Still under the weather

Today I took my youngest daughter and myself to the chiropracter.  We are all feeling a lot better, but I really needed an adjustment and Lil' Miss was still running a fever and so I figured it would be good for her too.

Her eyes look clearer and she has actually been a little more energetic since we went.  She has always responded very well to chiropractic treatment, although she doesn't like it.  She thinks it hurts, which is does feel a little uncomfortable at times.  But it is a good uncomfortable, which she would tend to agree.

Well hopefully everyone will be well tomorrow.  My hubby is still feeling yuck, but he went to work today.  So maybe after resting some more tonight he will start to improve.

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Feb. 19, 2008 - Sick, Sick, Sick and how to make Goot.

Well today is one of those days where nothing is going to get accomplished.  Everyone here is sick!  My husband is even home from work which is something that never happens, so you know he is REALLY sick.  He has actually been sick for over a week now and seems to be getting worse not better.  Please be praying for him.  He doesn't have a lot of time to rest, so I am sure that contributes to not getting better.

The girls and I all have sore throats and croupy coughs.  I am feeling quite a bit better today, but I am still tired and weak.  We are all laying around sleeping, watching movies and that's about it.  I have made a pot of homemade chicken broth and we all keep drinking that. 

I also made Goot.  What's Goot you ask?  Well it is a combination of coconut oil and garlic.  I gently melt about 1/4 or 1/2 cup of coconut oil over very low heat.  While that is melting chop up 4-5 cloves of garlic and put in a bowl.  Once the oil is melted and cooled slightly(you should be able to stick your finger in it and keep it in for at least 10 seconds) you pour it into the bowl with the garlic.  Let it sit for 3-5 minutes and then strain out the garlic.  As the oil cools it will harden and you can use this to rub on the soles of your feet, chest, neck, back.  It works well and helps to clear up sore throats and coughs.  I put some on my oldest daughters chest and within 5 minutes her cough sounded much looser that it previously had.  I am a firm believer in the healing properties of garlic and coconut oil.

Besides doing these things, we are taking a lot of powdered Acerola powder (vitamin C) mixed with raw honey, Grapefruit Seed Extract, Elderberry syrup and probiotics.   We also love Homeopathy and so all of us have taken a remedy that best fits our needs.  I am sure we will be up and at in no time!  Oh the joys of winter! 

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Feb. 16, 2008 - Our Restaurant

Our girls served us last year as if they were waitresses.  We all had such a nice evening that they decided to do it again.  Only this time they went all out decorating and just all around taking good care of their Mom and Dad.

 

 

The special for the evening was Lasagna hot dish with garlic bread. (Hot dish because Mom forgot to buy Lasagna noodles. Oops!)

We were so lucky to have 3 choices for dessert.  Strawberry pretzel dessert, peanut butter bars or brownies!  Yum!

 

Here we are enjoying our evening.

Here are our excellent servers!  Aren't they cute!

We had a wonderful evening and it is so neat to watch our girls and how they had planned out the entire meal.

After dinner we played a really fun game with the girls.  It has actually become a tradition each year.  I take red balloons and put a fun message in them.  The message may read something to the effect of act like a chicken, or tell everyone something you appreciate about them.  You pick a balloon and pop it, then you do whatever the message says.  It produces lots of giggles.

These are the homemade treats that I made for my sweetheart for Valentine's Day.

 

 

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Feb. 16, 2008 - Valentine Surprise

My mom was here last week, and while we were out shopping I spied some really nice dishes that were returns and very inexpensive.  I mulled over whether or not to purchase something that was a need, yet something we could do without awhile longer.  I decided not to purchase them.  I told my hubby about them, but he said it wasn't a good time to being buying something like dishes, because we have so many other things we have to purchase.

Well on Wed. evening he comes home and brings in a bag.  Inside was the dishes!  Not only did he buy the dishes, he even found the platter and serving bowls.  What a sweetie! 

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Feb. 13, 2008 - Frugal and Pretty Valentine Idea

Yesterday for my homeschool group I made a bouquet of Hershey Kiss roses.  They are really easy to make and look pretty too!

All the ladies loved being able to take home a rose.  And who doesn't love to eat  chocolate!!

You need to start with some material, netting, cellophane or something that would look like a rose when you cover the kisses.  I used red netting.  Cut your pieces into 4x4 inch squares.

 Take two kisses and put the bottoms together.  Then take a floral wire and make a small loop on one end to lay on the side of the kisses.  If you would like you can add a leaf to make it more realistic.  I had some old flowers that I never use, so I used the leaves from them, just be sure to leave a little bit of a stem from the leaves so you have something to wrap.  Lay the leaf next to the wire to hide the wire.

Then use floral tape and start wrapping where the tip of the bottom kiss is and wrap around tightly as far as you would like.  Because I was making so many I only wrapped mine part of the way down the floral wire.

I ended up cutting quite a bit off the bottome of my floral wire to make them the size I wanted.

Here is my bouquet.

I know these are not the best directions, but I am sure if you did a google search you could find some better!

For more fun and frugal ideas, check out www.moneysavingmom.com

 

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Feb. 13, 2008 - Picture of new sink or rather old sink.

Here is our sink we had found out in our horse barn.  We still need to put the countertop back on, but it doesn't look to bad.  It will take some getting used to as this sink is longer than or other one. 

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Feb. 12, 2008 - New Sink

Well our sink finally bit the dust.  I posted about this a few months ago and how we cauked around it to keep it from leaking, etc.  Last night the girls and I were cleaning up from supper and water started just pouring out of the cabinet under the sink.  We now have two holes in our pipes and our cauked sink is still kinda leaky.

My hubby is going to come home early today and start replacing our sink with an old enamel sink we found in our delapitated horse barn.  I actually remember my great uncle having one of these sinks in his house and thinking it was very neat. 

I am hoping it looks as good as I am imagining it will.  I will take pictures to share!

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