My First Meme

Miss Paula at Gathering of Friends has tagged me with my first meme.

Four jobs I have had or currently have in my life:
1. babysitter
2. Worked at a daycare.
3. Worked for a giftware company Michel & Co
4. Wife and Mother (my favorite!)

Four countries I have been to:
1. United States
2.Canada
3. Mexico
4. I Want to go to Merry Old England!

Four places I’d rather be right now:
1. England
2. California (on vacation)
3. Canada (at Tim's uncles cottage)
4. Road trip with my sweetheart!

Four foods I like to eat:
1. Chick-fil-A chicken sandwich
2. grilled chicken
3. Steak
4. a really good salad!

Happy Anniversary Mom and Dad!

Last week, my parents celebrated their 48th wedding anniversary! Isn't that amazing?

These years together have not been without struggles or pain, but they have given theirselves to God and to His will for their lives.

They have set a good example, my brother has been married for 24 years and Tim and I for 19 1/2 years.

Below is a picture of their grandchildren (taken last year in California) including Ryan's wife Alicia. Yes, a third generation of marital commitment has begun, Ryan and Alicia recently celebrated their first year of marriage!

May God give us all a multi-generational vision for honoring Him with our marriages and families.

Great Grandma's Hutch

Do you remember when I asked about painting my hutch? Overwhelmingly the advice was "paint it".

So I did. The walls were also painted in between the photos being taken.

I decided to paint the inside this beautiful sage green (the same color as my hallway). I thought that my tea pots, cups and plates would stand out better than against white.

Here is a bit of the top detail.

I am so delighted that I painted it.

What do you think?

Friday's Feast

Appetizer:

Describe a toy you remember from your childhood. Mrs. Beasley Doll. (like Buffy's on Family Affair)

Soup:

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest) how observant are you? 8

Salad:

Where would you rather be at this very moment? hmmm, I am pretty content here at home, but I guess I would like to go Anywhere with my darling husband.

Main Course:

When was the last time you learned something new? I try to learn something new everyday!

Dessert:

Fill in the blank: I have _groceries_______ but I haven't __a menu_.

Apple Recipes

Manuela of "The Feathered Nest", asked me what recipes I was going to make for Apples of Gold, so I thought I would post them.

First is my husband's favorite "English Apple Pie" This pie has no crust just a great topping, which is very different from a crumb or streusel topping.

Preheat ove to 375 degrees

Peel and slice about 4-6 apples (depending on size)

Mix 1/2 cup sugar with 1 tsp of cinnamon - pour over and mix into the apples. Pour the apples into pie pan.

In a mixing bowl combine; 1/2 cup of butter and 1/2 cup of packed brown sugar. Beat.

Mix in 1 cup of flour, 1 tsp cinnamon, 3 TBSP water, 1/2 cup chopped walnuts.

Dollop mixture on the top of the apples, and bake on the lowest rack in the oven for 45-50 minutes.

It is very easy and delicious. It is especially good with vanilla ice cream!

As a side note - I always double the amount of apples and bake it in a 9x13 pan. I used to double the topping as well, but lately I keep the topping amount the same. Did I mention my husband really likes this pie! So do the kids!

The second recipe I have never made but comes from the kitchen of my friend Betty.

Apple Cheese Dessert

1 cup butter

2/3 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups of flour

Mix together. Press into 9x13 pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 4 minutes. Cool.

16 oz. Cream Cheese

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Beat these ingredients together and pour over cooled crust.

Slice 4 cups apples. Mix with 2/3 cup sugar and 1 teaspoon cinnamon.

Pour over cream cheese mixture. Bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes and then 375 degrees for 25-35 minutes.

I am going to make this one soon - I think my family will enjoy it and I need to make it before I share it with the ladies.

Let me know if you make the recipes and how you like them!

Apples of Gold

I am going to be helping with a mentoring program at church called Apples of Gold. It is set as a 6 week program, but we are going to do it in 12 weeks, as there is so much to study and discuss.

Each week we will be having the study and then having a cooking demonstration and decorating ideas. This is the area I will be "mentoring".

I am not a gourmet cook by any means, but I also think that many of our young wives and mothers will be looking for healthy, delicious, and easy to make recipes. The first week we meet I will teach them to make 2 apple recipes, and then see what it is they would like to learn to do.

I am very excited to be a part of this program. I know there are many young women today who have been prepared to have careers but not prepared for being wives, mothers, and keeper of their homes.

My two teen daughters ages 15 and 13 will be providing the child care for our group. It is great for them to be able to help out in this way, using the skills they have been taught as big sisters to several little ones.

We don't start until September but I have been working on the study portion, meeting with the other ladies who are mentoring. It will be here before you know it!

Sunday

Today has been a beautiful day.

The weather is gorgeous, church was great, our son was here with his girlfriend for lunch, which we ate outside under the trees.

The girls worked the horses, and we cleaned up a bit.

This evening, my darling's brother, sister in law and girls are coming over. One daughter will spend the night with my girls. Time with them is rare as they are missionaries in Senegal, West Africa, with New Tribes Mission. You can check out the mission at www.ntm.org

Trust you are all having a wonderful day!

The Lord bless you and keep you,
The Lord make His face shine upon you,
and give you peace.

The Lord be gracious to you,
The Lord turn His face toward you,
and give you peace, forever.

My 100th Post and Sarah Jessica Parker

I realized back when Miss Paula was here that I had posted my 100th post. It barely made a blip on my radar at the time.

100 posts. Wow. What have I said? I hope I have been encouraging and fun, that you have found this blog a place of hospitality.

Today we went to a Steve and Barry's store. They carry a line of women's sportswear, that is very moderately priced, designed by Sarah Jessica Parker. Now you may think what I thought at first "I don't really want to see what she has designed", given her series on t.v. Miss Paula had found this store and clothing line and had good things to say about it, so we checked it out.

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised. Sarah Jessica Parker states that "a sweater shouldn't cost more than your groceries"! Amen to that! We found several cute things. First I have to say that we are pretty modest around this cottage. That being said, we purchased a cute striped t-shirt that was $7.98 and a lovely blue feminine short sleeved blouse that was $9.98! It has lovely styling along the hem that is very attractive, and small rows of ruffles, it looks great on my very non-ruffly daughter, Lindsay. I do have to say that we found that either the sizing runs SMALL or that it is meant to be very tight, we just tried things on and purchased a size up!

While at Steve and Barry's we also bought a tan cord blazer and a tan cord jean jacket style jacket for my teen girls that were $14.95 each! Where has this store been hiding? We bought 2 white blouses for $20.00 and a brown tiered skirt that was 50% off - we paid $3.99 cents for it!

We ate at my favorite fast food place, Chick-fil-A! Yum!

It was a great day!

Friday's Feast

Appetizer:

On a scale of 1 to 10 (with 10 being highest) how much do enjoy watching sports on television? 3

Soup

If you could completely memorize any one work of fiction, which one would you pick? Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen!

Salad:

What is your favorite breakfast food? biscuits and gravy

Main Course:

Name something fun you can do for less than $10.00. Movie Night with the family

Dessert:

How long does it usually take you to fall asleep? Usually I fall asleep watching T.V. so maybe 30 minutes

A New School Year

I am realizing just how soon school will start for us here at the cottage. We always start in the beginning of August so that we can take a week at Thanksgiving (my husband likes to take that week as a vacation week), and two weeks at Christmas, as we have a lot of family celebrating that happens those two weeks, with 2 birthdays and an anniversary.

We finished our school year April 30th, about 2 weeks ahead of schedule. This was because we didn't take as much time off during the school year. So we have had all of May and June off and will have all of July as well.

I am getting excited about starting. I will have a 10th grader, 8th grader, 3rd grader and Kindergartener this year! Such fun. We will be learning botany this year, world history, literature, math of course, art, music. It will be fun to see the light of understanding go on in the little ones, and the enjoyment of mastering subjects in my older ones! I feel so blessed to be able to educate my children at home.

We'll keep you posted about all we learn.

Luau!

Doesn't this picture look wonderful?

I have been looking at tropical things online, as I am involved with decorating a men and boys dinner at church. They are having a luau theme, complete with a hula contest!

The luau is August 4th, I am hoping everything comes together and that it is a great event for the men and boys!

I'll let you know how it goes!

Summer Greetings

We have been enjoying all the local garden bounty lately. Sweet corn, cherries, tomatoes, Yum!

It has been awhile since I have posted, as so much has been going on. First we had company, and now we have launched our oldest child out of the nest. He is sharing an apt. with friends in the city, and looking for work. He is taking a year off from school, as he is not certain what he wants to pursue. He has much to learn and we pray that this will be a profitable time for him. The friends are young, yet mature, and we are confident he is in a good situation, which is a huge answer to prayer.

I have been cleaning his room, and thinking what color to paint the walls, to freshen things up. As a homeschooling family who loves books, we are thinking that his room would make a great library. It would be small, but cozy and a place to corral all our many books. One of our girls would like to make it her bedroom, to be shared with a younger sister, but I think we are leaning toward a library.

We have been enjoying the pool at "Camp Geezer" which is what my dad calls their place. The kids love to go to their grandparents home, and have sleepovers! They kick grandpa out of his room, and they get to sleep in with grandma in the huge king sized bed! Poor grandpa has to sleep in the guest room...

My dear husband's brother, sister in law, and niece have arrived in the area for a few weeks visit. They are missionaries in Senegal, West Africa and are home for meetings. They will spend their time enjoying their daughters who live in the area and visiting supporters. We are excited to see them.

Today we are off to a park gathering with the families of our homeschool co-op, and then to our new fun activity - bowling! I determined that I wanted to spend this summer doing fun things with the kids. We finished our school year early and we actually will start our new school year in a few weeks! We haved had all of May and June off already, and July is nearly over! I just love learning along with my children, and watching them learn new things.

Well friends, I wish you a lovely summer day!

Enjoy!

Good Bye, Miss Paula

Well, like many good things, our time together has come to an end.

It has been so wonderful to spend time with my brother and his delightful wife, and two of their children. It has been special to have Miss Paula's mother visit as well. I have known her nearly my whole life.

It is hard to say good bye, but it is made easier by the ability to keep in touch through phone calls, we all have the same cell service and can talk anytime of the day for free, and through email.

They have busy lives at home with work, and the home, but also they are busy serving the members of their church through teaching, and bible study. They are a light in their neighborhood and in their circle of friends. We are so proud of them.

Last night we all went to the nearby state park and enjoyed the beauty of the sunset from the overlook. The air was lovely and so was the company.

So farewell, beloved family! We hope to see you soon.

Fun Times

Friday's Feast

Appetizer:

What is your favorite fruit? Strawberries

Soup:

Who is someone you consider as a great role model? Elisabeth Elliot

Salad:

If you were to spend one night anywhere within an hour of your home, where would you choose? Gettysburg

Main Course:

Name something you do too often. Eat

Dessert:

Fill in the blank: I really like _to decorate__________ because _it allows me to make my home warm and welcoming for family and friends___________.

Happy Birthday Sarah

Make an on-line slide show at www.OneTrueMedia.com

Trouble with my photo program, but having fun!

I have been wanting to post pictures of all the fun we have been having around here, but I am having trouble with my program. I will try to get that straightened out soon!

Meanwhile, we have had so much fun, with the 4th of July, also my nephews bday. He is now 21 years old. We tried to give him a pony ride for his birthday, but he turned us down! Can you believe it? We had good fireworks, but our neighbors' were amazing and spectacular and we got to enjoy those!

The Land of Little Horses was fun, the girls got to milk goats, and feed baby goats a bottle. Rachel wanted to bring one of the little horses home! It was a nice afternoon, and we got there in time to get in half price. That was good, full price wouldn't have been worth the admission price, but half price was.

We girls also went into a clothing shop in Gettysburg, "Abraham's Lady". This is a fabulous shop for civil war era clothing. The girls loved everything, I would have loved to let them try dresses on, but I wasn't sure if that was appropriate, so they didn't. They did try on cloaks and bonnets, though.

Saturday, Miss Paula, from Gathering of Friends, my mom, her mom, Emily and I went shopping, in the little town of Intercourse. We went to the Candle Barn, and to Immergut Pretzel, Zooks Dry Goods (wonderful fabric shop) and Nancy's Notions. These last 2 shops are Amish owned. Then we went to Blue Ball to the Flower and Craft Warehouse. You can find them at http://www.flowerandcraft.com/

Yesterday afternoon we spent in the pool, which was nice considering it was in the 90's here.

Today I have sewing to do, as my dear Sarah has a bday on Wednesday and wants a "colonial girl" dress.

I hope to be able to show you pictures soon!

Off to see the Mini Horses!

Today we are off with the kids to see the "Land of Little Horses Farm Park" near Gettysburg.

I will post either later today, the pictures from yesterday, and pictures from today.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

www.landoflittlehorses.com

Welcome Miss Paula!

Miss Paula and family arrived safely last night! They are staying at my parents home. In case you didn't realize Miss Paula's dear husband is my brother!

They came to visit and brought two of their kids, Evan, who turns 21 today! and Kaitlin who is 16. Also along is Miss Alice, Miss Paula's mother!

We are going to miss Jill, Ryan and Alicia, but we will manage to have a good time anyway!

I will post pictures!

Happy Birthday America!

Happy Birthday to an amazing country! A place of freedom, liberty, and hope.

I am thankful to be born in such a fantastic place. God bless her and use her to be a shining light, a city on a hill.

Patrick Henry Quote

Here is a quote by Patrick Henry:

“It cannot be emphasized too clearly and too often that this nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religion, but on the gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason, peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity, and freedom of worship here.” [May 1765 Speech to the House of Burgesses]

Friends

My friend Sandi and I have known each other since Kindergarten. We became close friends in high school, and stay in touch even now.

A week ago, Sandi's oldest child, a daughter, got married. This girl was a baby at my own wedding. It seems impossible.

Sandi sent me pictures, and oh, it was sweet to look at the faces of her dear family. Her mom, whom I haven't seen in so many years, her sisters, their children, all grown up and parents now.

Sandi and I are the kind of friends who may not talk or see each other for ages, and yet pick right up where we left off. There are not too many of these kinds of friendships in the world, and I am thankful for this one.

So dear friend, congratulations, and talk to you soon. It has been too long!

Sunday

Yesterday afternoon was beautiful here. We grilled lunch after church and my parents dropped by for a while. We sat under our trees and watched the girls interact with the horses.

Later, we took a drive to a nearby state park that overlooks a beautiful river.

A beautiful end to a lovely day.